Subfamily
Hippotraginae
Horse
antelopes |
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The Hippotraginae (literally horse-goats) have an overall horse-like
build, but are named for the erect, horse-like mane which is found on the
nape of the neck of most species. All eight Recent species are large
antelopes with heavy torsos and thick necks. The sexes resemble each
other closely in size and (generally) coloration. Both males and females
possess long horns (either straight or arcing in form) with strong transverse
ridges; the horns of males are generally thicker than those of females.
There are vivid facial markings in most species. Juveniles of
all species are born light tan all over, with only faint markings.
This subfamily is presently restricted to Africa (where they first appear
in the fossil record 6.5 million years ago) and Arabia, although fossils
have also been found in Europe and India from deposits 3-1.6 million years
old. Kingdon (1997) hypothesized that the subfamily may have originated
in Eurasia and then colonized Africa by crossing the Sahara Desert. The
horse antelopes today include the most arid-adapted bovid species; no other
artiodactyl has been able to challenge modern oryxes (Oryx sp.) and
addax (Addax nasomaculatus) for the desert niche.
All Hippotraginae species are grazers, with high-crowned teeth designed for
chewing tough, dry grasses. Species inhabit lightly wooded savannahs
and arid lands across much of Africa and Arabia. One species of horse
antelope, the blaubok (Hippotragus leucophaeus), filled the horse
antelope niche in southern Africa, but was hunted to extinction around 1800. |
The Hippotraginae Family
Tree
(branch lengths are not proportional to
time)
Click on the species above to learn
more,
or jump to the Hippotraginae
Species List
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Literature Cited
Estes, R. D. 1991. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: including
hoofed mammals, carnivores, primates. Los Angeles: University of California
Press.
Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic
Press, London and New York: NaturalWorld.
Nowak, R. M. [editor]. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World (Fifth Edition).
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Vrba, E. S., and G. B. Schaller. 2000. Phylogeny of Bovidae based
on behavior, glands, skulls, and postcrania. In Antelopes, Deer,
and Relatives. Edited by E.S.Vrba and G.B.Schaller. New
Haven & London: Yale University Press. pp. 203-222.
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