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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: antelope

Antelope, name applied to a large number of hoofed, ruminant mammals of the cattle family (Bovidae), which also includes the sheep and goats. The North American pronghorn is sometimes called an antelope, but belongs to a separate, related family (Antilocapridae). True antelopes are found only in Africa and Asia. They range in size from pygmy antelopes, 12 in. (30 cm) high at the shoulder, to the giant eland, with a shoulder height of over 6 ft (180 cm). Most types stand 3 to 4 ft (90–120 cm) high. The horns of antelopes, unlike the antlers of deer, are unbranched, consist of a chitinous shell with a bony core, and are not shed. Africa is the home of most antelopes. The spiral-horned antelopes are the bushbucks (including the nyala and the sitatunga), kudu, eland, and bongo. These oxlike animals have patterns of light and dark stripes on the body, and most have them on the face as well. The duikers are a group of small, straight-horned antelopes of forest and thick brush country. Marsh antelopes are deerlike animals of marshes and reedbeds; they include the waterbuck, kob, puka, lechwe, reedbuck, and rhebok. The gnu (or wildebeest) and the closely related hartebeest and damalisk are horselike antelopes of the grasslands. The name oryx is applied to smaller horselike animals of the desert and scrublands, including the gemsbok and the beisa; the addax is a related desert antelope. The sable antelope and the closely related roan antelope have enormous, backward-curved, scimitar-shaped horns. Gazelle is the name for a number of small, delicate antelopes with spreading horns, inhabiting deserts and grassy plains. The largest of these is the pale brown impala, the kind of antelope best known from motion pictures. The gazelle tribe also includes the gerenuk, dibatag, springbok, and blackbuck, as well as the so-called true gazelles (genus Gazella). The blackbuck, found in India, was the first antelope to be described by zoologists, and has the generic name Antilope. The delicate pygmy antelopes include the royal antelope, beira, klipspringer, oribi, grysbok, steinbok, dik-dik, and suni. Males have tiny, straight horns. The nilgai and the four-horned antelope are found in SE Asia. More closely related to the goats than to any of the above-named animals, but often called antelopes, are the saiga of central Asia and the chiru of Tibet. Antelopes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

Wikipedia search results for: Antelope

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species found in the family Bovidae. The term does not refer to a monophyletic group, as not all members of Bovidae are considered antelope. Instead, the term refers to a ‘miscellaneous’ group within the family encompassing the species which are not cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, or goats. A group of antelope is called a herd Confusingly, the pronghorn antelope of North America is not an antelope, and no antelope species are native to the Americas. The pronghorn is not a member of the family Bovidae, but the family Antilocapridae. True antelope have horns which are unbranched and never shed, while...more »

Columbia Encyclopedia search results: antelope

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marsh antelope
Marsh antelope, name for members of a group of deerlike African antelopes, usually found in reeds or tall grasses near water. The males of this group have horns that curve back, up, and forwar...
antelope brush
Antelope brush, low, deciduous shrub (Purshia tridentata) of the family Rosaceae (rose family), widely distributed in the W United States where it is a characteristic constituent of the vegeta...
impala
Impala, species of antelope, Aepyceros melampus, closely related to the gazelle and found in the savannah and bush country of E and S Africa. It is the antelope most commonly depicted in illus...
pronghorn
Pronghorn or prongbuck, hoofed herbivorous mammal, Antilocapra americana, of the W United States and N Mexico. Although it is often called the American, or prong-horned, antelope, it does not ...
kudu
Kudu, short-haired African antelope, genus Strepsiceros. The greater kudu, Strepsiceros strepsiceros, has a reddish brown coat with thin vertical white stripes on its sides. It is among the la...
bushbuck
Bushbuck, small, delicate, spiral-horned antelope, Tragelaphus scriptus, of tropical Africa. Bushbucks live in pairs in thick forest, browsing on leaves and shrubs by night and resting during ...
bongo
Bongo, spiral-horned antelope, Boocercus eurycerus, found in jungles and thick bamboo forests of equatorial Africa. Shy, elusive animals, bongos never emerge into the open and are seldom seen;...
eland
Eland, large, spiral-horned African antelope, genus Taurotragus, found in brush country or open forest at the edge of grasslands. Elands live in small herds and are primarily browsers rather t...
damalisk
Damalisk, name for African antelopes of the genus Damaliscus, closely related to the hartebeest. Damalisks are slenderly built and rather horselike in form; they are common grazing animals of ...
blackbuck
Blackbuck, small antelope, Antilope cervicapra, found in semidesert plains and open forest throughout India. Males are dark brown above and white below, with white rings around the eyes; they ...

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