Okapi

Mammalian earth compared with the other animals bit - about 3500 species and some subspecies. However, some scholars do not recognize the subspecies and consider that there are about 4,500 mammalian species. But even if so, it is still not enough, and many of you may have the impression that zoologists studying mammals, few problems. Open allegedly have nobody, and where you will find a large animal unknown to science if the whole Earth has been studied and investigated? Well there insects, some small frogs or lizards or even birds - among them is still possible for someone to open and can survive where no species known to science. A new species of mammals - a dubious thing.

To study the known mammals now is not very interesting: the people engaged in them for a long time - and dissected, and tame, and are trained, and about the mammals they already know everything. I do not know whether all think so, but, of course, such skeptics were there. But I want to turn once they argue and argue their case some interesting facts.

At the beginning of the XIX century French naturalist Georges Cuvier said that "hope to identify new types of pets - is very small." And after it was discovered many new, previously completely unknown species of mammals. In the early twentieth century, a little-known but very opinionated German zoologist expressed the thought that the end of the XIX century ends and zoological discoveries. On this XX century, "said" it at least fifty amazing discovery - a list of the major inhabitants of our planet hitherto unknown replenished with new kinds of animals.

The first of them - an unusual mammal like the okapi. It is - hard and muscular animal the size of a donkey on his feet - the hoof, and on his head - small horns. Besides the story of his discovery - a real detective, which, among other things, have a lot of zoologists. However, the most surprising and interesting it turned out: a new kind of animal okapi was close relative of the giraffe. It turned out not once, zoologists had a lot of work, but it was worth it: small okapi and the highest in the world of animals were close relatives, because they had a common ancestor. And so, the physical resemblance is not very much. Here's a look at the photo below the okapi.