A gazelle is one of many
antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
species in the
genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''
Eudorcas'' and ''
Nanger
''Nanger'' is a genus of antelopes, commonly called gazelles. ''Nanger'' was originally considered a subgenus within the genus ''Gazella'', but has since been elevated to genus status. The three living species within the genus ''Nanger'' are:
...
'', which were formerly considered
subgenera
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ''
Procapra'', includes three living species of Asian gazelles.
Gazelles are known as swift animals. Some are able to run at bursts as high as or run at a sustained speed of . Gazelles are found mostly in the deserts, grasslands, and
savannas of
Africa; but they are also found in
southwest and
central Asia and the
Indian subcontinent. They tend to live in herds, and eat fine, easily digestible plants and leaves.
Gazelles are relatively small antelopes, most standing high at the shoulder, and are generally fawn-colored.
The gazelle genera are ''Gazella'', ''Eudorcas'', and ''Nanger''. The
taxonomy of these genera is confused, and the classification of
species and
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
has been an unsettled issue. Currently, the genus ''Gazella'' is widely considered to contain about 10 species. One subspecies is extinct: the
Queen of Sheba's gazelle. Most surviving gazelle species are considered
threatened to varying degrees. Closely related to the true gazelles are the
Tibetan goa and
Mongolian gazelles (species of the genus ''Procapra''), the
blackbuck of Asia, and the African
springbok.
One widely familiar gazelle is the African species
Thomson's gazelle (''Eudorcas thomsonii''), which is around in height at the shoulder and is coloured brown and white with a distinguishing black stripe. The males have long, often curved, horns. Like many other prey species, Tommies exhibit a distinctive behaviour of
stotting (running and jumping high before fleeing) when they are threatened by predators, such as cheetahs, lions, African wild dogs, crocodiles, hyenas, and leopards.
Etymology and their name
''Gazelle'' is derived from ar, غزال ', Maghrebi Arabic, Maghrebi pronunciation '.
To Europe it first came to Old Spanish and Old French,
and then around 1600 the word entered the English language. The Arab people traditionally hunted the gazelle. Appreciated for its grace, it is a symbol most commonly associated in Arabic literature with female beauty.
In many countries in Northwestern Sub-Saharan Africa, the gazelle is commonly referred to as "dangelo", meaning "swift deer".
Symbolism or totemism in African families
The gazelle, like the antelope to which it is a family of, is the totem of many African families such as the Joof family of the Senegambia region,
[Gastellu, Jean-Marc (M. Sambe - 1937), ''L'égalitarisme économique des Serer du Senegal, Sénégal'', IRD Editions (1981), p. 130,]
/ref> the Bagananoa of Botswana in Southern Africa - said to be descended of the BaHurutshe, and the Eraraka (or Erarak) clan of Uganda.[Roscoe, John, ''The Northern Bantu: An Account of Some Central African Tribes of the Uganda Protectorate'', The University Press (1915), p. 262] As common in many African societies, it is forbidden for the Joof or Eraraka to kill or touch the family totem.
Poetry
One of the traditional themes of Arabic love poetry involves comparing the gazelle with the beloved, and linguists theorize ''ghazal'', the word for love poetry in Arabic, is related to the word for gazelle.
Species
The gazelles are divided into three genera and numerous species.
Prehistoric extinctions
Fossils of genus ''Gazella'' are found in Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits of Eurasia and Africa. The tiny ''Gazella borbonica'' is one of the earliest European gazelles, characterized by its small size and short legs. Gazelles disappeared from Europe at the start of the Ice Age, but they survived in Africa and Middle East.
* Genus ''Gazella''
** ''Gazella borbonica'' - Pleistocene Europe
** ''Gazella capricornis'' - Miocene Asia[
** ''Gazella negevensis'' - Early Miocene Asia][
** ''Gazella pilgrimi'' - Late Miocene Europe][
** ''Gazella paotehensis'' - Middle Miocene Asia][
** ''Gazella paragutturosa'' - Pleistocene Asia]
Gallery
File:Grants Gazelle Gazella granti in Tanzania 2645 Nevit.jpg, Grant's gazelle (male)
File:Gazella dama mhorr 2.jpg, Dama Gazelle, Mhorr gazelle
File:Cuvier's Gazelle.jpg, Cuvier's gazelle (female)
File:Gazella thomsonii - Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, Orlando, Florida, USA - 20100916.jpg, Thomson's gazelle (male)
File:Gazella spekei (Speke's Gazelle).jpg, Speke's gazelle (female)
File:Group of Gazella subgutturosa.JPG, Goitered gazelle (females and young)
File:Chinkara.jpg, Chinkara (female)
File:Gazella-dorcas.jpg, Dorcas gazelle (female)
File:Gazella rufifrons AB.jpg, Red-fronted gazelle
File:Gazella gazella.jpg, Mountain gazelle (male)
File:GazellaSoemmerringiWolf.jpg, Soemmerring's gazelle (females)
File:Slender-horned gazelle (Cincinnati Zoo).jpg, Slender-horned gazelle (male)
File:Granada Alhambra gazelle Poterie 9019.JPG, Gazelles on one of the Alhambra vases, vases made for the Alhambra palace
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Gazella,
Mammals of Africa
True antelopes
Extant Pliocene first appearances
Taxa named by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville
