10/14/2023 0 Comments Spiral antler![]() ![]() The English word "antelope" first appeared in 1417 and is derived from the Old French antelop, itself derived from Medieval Latin ant(h)alopus, which in turn comes from the Byzantine Greek word ἀνθόλοψ, anthólops, first attested in Eustathius of Antioch ( c. Etymology Illustration from The History of Four-footed Beasts (1607) If a horn is broken, it will either remain broken or take years to partially regenerate, depending on the species. ![]() Unlike deer, in which the males sport elaborate head antlers that are shed and regrown annually, antelope horns are bone and grow steadily, never falling off. Countries like India, however, have large populations of endemic deer and antelope, with the different species generally keeping to their own “niches” with minimal overlap. This is likely due to competition over shared resources, as deer and antelope fill a virtually identical ecological niche in their respective habitats. By comparison, numerous deer species are usually found in regions of the world with fewer or no antelope species present, such as throughout Southeast Asia, Europe and all of The Americas. While antelope are found in abundance in Africa, only one deer species is found on the continent-the Barbary red deer of Northern Africa. One North American mammal, the pronghorn or “pronghorn antelope”, is colloquially referred to as the "American antelope", despite the fact that it belongs to a completely different family ( Antilocapridae) than the true Old-World antelopes pronghorn are the sole extant member of an extinct prehistoric lineage that once included many unique species, some with elaborately spiraling horns, and some with shorter ossicones-hence their true connection to the giraffe and okapi.Īlthough antelope are sometimes referred to, and easily misidentified as, “deer” ( cervids), true deer are only distantly related to antelope. Ī better definition, also known as the "true antelopes," includes only the genera Gazella, Nanger, Eudorcas, and Antilope. The term "antelope" is a wastebasket taxon and is defined as comprising any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae of the order Artiodactyla. The term antelope is used to refer to a number of species of ruminant artiodactyls-i.e., multiple-stomached, cud-chewing, even-toed hoofed mammals-that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. AntelopeĬladistically included but traditionally excluded taxaĪ bull sable antelope among the trees in the African savanna For other uses, see Antelope (disambiguation). This article is about the herbivorous mammals. ![]()
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