11 April 2010

An interesting fact about the neck of a giraffe

Most people are surprised to learn that the incredibly long neck of a giraffe is supported by just seven cervical vertebrae - the same number as in humans (and I think most other mammals).  The unusual length of the vertebrae is demonstrated nicely in this photo.

Photo found at ~Mein---Teil, via nrkn.

1 comment:

  1. All mammals have the same number of cervical vertebrae except, strangely, for manatees and sloths. Maybe you could do a post on why this is?

    ReplyDelete

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