Giraffe (Giraffa) is a type of African cloven-hoofed mammals, the highest living terrestrial animals and the largest ruminants. The genus currently consists of one species, Giraffa camelopardalis, species species. Seven other species are extinct, prehistoric species known from fossils. The taxonomic classifications of one to eight surviving giraffe species have been described based on studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA as well as Giraff's morphological measurements, but the IUCN currently only recognizes one species from nine subspecies.