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How the giraffe got its neck: ‘unicorn’ fossil could shed light on puzzle

A newly described species of ancient giraffoid had a thick helmet designed for fierce headbutting.
  1. Nicola Jones
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How did the giraffe get its long neck? Researchers say a species of giraffoid that lived millions of years ago in China could shed light on this puzzler. The animal, named after a mythical unicorn-like creature, had a thick headpiece optimized for high-speed head-bashing fights1.

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Nature 606, 239 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01565-7

References

  1. Wang, S.-Q. et al. Science 376, eabl8316 (2022).

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