Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope and prairie antelope, [5] because it closely resembles the antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar ecological niche due to parallel evolution. [6] It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae. [7]
The antelope was mistakenly imagined to be a monstrous beast of prey; the 16th century poet Edmund Spenser referred to it as being "as fierce and fell as a wolf." [29] Antelope can all also occur in their natural form, in which case they are termed "natural antelope" to distinguish them from the more usual heraldic antelope. [30]
The spiral-horned antelopes belong to the subfamily Bovinae which also includes oxen of the tribe Bovini and two aberrant species of Asian antelope, the four-horned antelope and the nilgai which belong to the tribe Boselaphini. The relationship between the tribes varies in research concerning their phylogeny.
The Antilocapridae are a family of ruminant artiodactyls endemic to North America.Their closest extant relatives are the giraffids. [1] Only one species, the pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), is living today; all other members of the family are extinct.
Males are horned, and the occasional female. The horns are 15–24 cm (5.9–9.4 in) long but generally shorter than 30 cm (12 in). [7] Smooth and straight, these may point backward or forward. [35] The horns of the nilgai lack the ringed structure typical of those of other bovids. [36] The nilgai is the largest antelope in Asia.
Tragelaphus is a genus of medium-to-large-sized spiral-horned antelopes.It contains several species of bovines, all of which are relatively antelope-like.Species in this genus tend to be large in size and lightly built, and have long necks and considerable sexual dimorphism.
Kudu, or koodoo, is the Khoikhoi and seTswana name (Tholo is the Setswana name) for this antelope. Tragos (Greek) denotes a he-goat and elaphos (Greek) a deer. Strepho (Greek) means "I twist", and strephis is "twisting".
The nyala is a spiral-horned and middle-sized antelope, between a bushbuck and a kudu. [16] It is considered the most sexually dimorphic antelope. [2] The nyala is typically between 135–195 cm (53–77 in) in head-and-body length. [2] The male stands up to 110 cm (43 in), the female is up to 90 cm (3.0 ft) tall.