The Mongalla gazelle (''Eudorcas albonotata'') is a species of
gazelle
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and ''Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third f ...
found in the floodplain and
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
of
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
. It was first
described by British zoologist
Walter Rothschild
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...
in 1903. The taxonomic status of the Mongalla gazelle is widely disputed. While some authorities consider it a full-fledged
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
species in the genus ''Eudorcas'', it is often considered a subspecies of
Thomson's gazelle
Thomson's gazelle (''Eudorcas thomsonii'') is one of the best known species of gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and is sometimes referred to as a "tommie". It is considered by some to be a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle a ...
, while other authorities regard it as subspecies of the
red-fronted gazelle
The red-fronted gazelle (''Eudorcas rufifrons'') is widely but unevenly distributed gazelle across the middle of Africa from Senegal to northeastern Ethiopia. It is mainly resident in the Sahel zone, a narrow cross-Africa band south of the S ...
.
The Mongalla gazelle is a medium-sized antelope. The coat is brown, while the forehead, underbelly and buttocks are completely white. There is a bright wide stripe on its lateral side, beneath which is another rufous one.
Horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s are present on both sexes, but the length of horns of males is double of that of females.
This gazelle inhabits flood plains and flat savanna grasslands in South Sudan, east of the Nile. Its range, however, does not reach the borders of
Kenya
)
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, map_caption =
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and
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
. The
(IUCN) has categorised the Mongalla gazelle as
Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
. No major threats to the survival of this gazelle stand out at present.
Taxonomy
![Gazella rufifrons and Gazella albonotata Rothschild, 1903](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Gazella_rufifrons_and_Gazella_albonotata_Rothschild%2C_1903.jpg)
The scientific name of the Mongalla gazelle is ''Eudorcas albonotata''. It was first
described by British zoologist
Walter Rothschild
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...
in 1903.
There is little consensus on the taxonomic status of the Mongalla gazelle. This
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
species is often considered a subspecies of
Thomson's gazelle
Thomson's gazelle (''Eudorcas thomsonii'') is one of the best known species of gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and is sometimes referred to as a "tommie". It is considered by some to be a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle a ...
(''Eudorcas thomsonii'') by many authors, such as Alan W. Gentry of the
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Moreover, the Thomson's gazelle has been considered to be
conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...
with the
red-fronted gazelle
The red-fronted gazelle (''Eudorcas rufifrons'') is widely but unevenly distributed gazelle across the middle of Africa from Senegal to northeastern Ethiopia. It is mainly resident in the Sahel zone, a narrow cross-Africa band south of the S ...
(''E. rufifrons'') by authors like
Colin Groves
Colin Peter Groves (24 June 1942 – 30 November 2017) was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist. Groves was Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.
Education
Born in Englan ...
. As such, the Mongalla gazelle is often listed as a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle.
On the other hand, in their 2011 publication ''Ungulate Taxonomy'', Grubb and Groves consider the gazelle as a full-fledged species in the genus ''Eudorcas''.
Gentry in 1972 and Grubb in 2005 noted that the Mongalla gazelle is more similar to the red-fronted gazelle in skull and horn proportions than to the Thomson's gazelle.
The vernacular name derives from
Mongalla, a community in
Central Equatoria
Central Equatoria is a state in South Sudan. With an area of , it is the smallest of the original South Sudanese states. Its previous name was Bahr al-Jabal (also Bahr-el-Jebel), named after a tributary of the White Nile that flows through the s ...
state of
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
.
Description
The Mongalla gazelle is a medium-sized
sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
antelope. The forehead is completely white. Each eye is surrounded by a white ring. The area between tear ducts and the mouth is buff to black. The ears are pointed at the tips.
[ It has a brown coat with a white underside and buttocks. There is a broad band across the flanks and another faint rufous one below it. A posterior band and facial stripe is also present. The knee tufts are quite large. There is hair all along the short tail. ]Horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s are present in both sexes. The horns of males are short and marked by prominent rings. The horns of females are only half as long as those of the males, and are thin and straight. The horns curve backward and then forward, with the tips turned slightly inward.[
This gazelle resembles the red-fronted gazelle in size, but the skull is narrower in the former. Moreover, while the horns of females are 50 percent shorter than males in the Mongalla gazelle, there are 60 to 70 percent shorter in the red-fronted gazelle and the Eritrean gazelle (a subspecies of ]Dorcas gazelle
The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on vegeta ...
). It differs from the red-fronted gazelle because the former the nose and the stripe on the face is rufous to black instead of sandy to rufous. There are several differences between the two in term of the colourings of various facial features. Another difference is due to the greater backward laying of the horns and greater divergence in the horns of the Mongalla gazelle.[
Horns of the male Mongalla gazelle are shorter and curved more inwards than those of the male Thomson's gazelle.] In 1969, Groves pointed out that the Mongalla gazelle is somewhat intermediate between the Thomson's gazelle and the Nubian red-fronted gazelle (''E. r. laevipes''). The size of the Mongalla gazelle is similar to the latter, but the skull is narrower and the rostrum longer in the Mongalla gazelle than in the Nubian red-fronted gazelle.[
]
Habitat and distribution
The Mongalla gazelle inhabits flood plains and flat savanna grasslands in southeastern Sudan, east of the Nile. Its range, however, does not reach the borders of Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
and Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
. Though there have been reports of their presence in the Omo region of southwestern Ethiopia in the 1980s, no recent reports have validated this. In 1999, Rod East of the IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group gave a population estimate of 100,000, but it was known that numbers change substantially in the area of its range and some parts are not even accessible. A 2007 aerial survey in part of South Sudan gave a population estimate of 278,000.
The animal follows a nomadic annual migration cycle over the eastern Sudd floodplains. In the wet season, Mongalla gazelles congregate in high densities, along with other migratory species such as the white-eared kob and tiang.[ In fact, 1.2 million white-eared kob, tiang and Mongalla gazelles have continued their migration in South Sudan despite nearly 30 years of civil war in that area.] In 2007, the Mongalla gazelle was the second-most numerous animal in the Boma ecosystem.
Threats and conservation
The (IUCN) has categorised the Mongalla gazelle as Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
. No major threats to the survival of this gazelle stand out at present. The population in the Boma ecosystem has been found to be stable and not under a great risk from hunting. Moreover, poachers have limited access to some parts of the range as they are devoid of water.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q175287
Mongalla gazelle
The Mongalla gazelle (''Eudorcas albonotata'') is a species of gazelle found in the floodplain and savanna of South Sudan. It was first described by British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1903. The taxonomic status of the Mongalla gazelle is wi ...
Endemic fauna of South Sudan
Mammals of South Sudan
Mongalla gazelle
The Mongalla gazelle (''Eudorcas albonotata'') is a species of gazelle found in the floodplain and savanna of South Sudan. It was first described by British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1903. The taxonomic status of the Mongalla gazelle is wi ...