The Saudi gazelle (''Gazella saudiya'') is a ''
Gazella''
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
that was once native to the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
. It was declared
extinct in the wild
A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...
in 1996, as it was last observed in the wild in 1970.
[ The Saudi gazelle was officially declared ]extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
on the IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
in 2008.
Taxonomy
'' Gazella gazella saudiya'' was the scientific name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
proposed by Douglas Carruthers and Ernst Schwarz in 1939. They described the skull and head skin of a male gazelle specimen collected at an elevation of near Dhlam in Saudi Arabia. Terence Morrison-Scott
Sir Terence Charles Stuart Morrison-Scott (24 October 1908 – 25 November 1991) was a British zoologist who was Director of the Science Museum and the British Museum (Natural History) in London, England.CranbrookScott, Sir Terence Charles Stu ...
recognised it as a distinct species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
''Gazella saudiya'' in 1939. Colin Groves examined horn shapes and sizes of zoological specimens
A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use.
Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology.
Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...
of gazelles and recognised the Saudi gazelle as a subspecies of the Dorcas gazelle ''Gazella dorcas saudiya'' in 1969.Phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
analysis of museum samples of the Saudi gazelle revealed that it is distinct from and a sister taxon
In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree.
Definition
The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram:
Taxon A and t ...
of the Dorcas gazelle.
Distribution and habitat
The Saudi gazelle once lived in gravel and sandy plains with acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
s of the northern and western Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
from Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
to Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
, with most of the records coming from western Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. It was found singly or in groups up to 20.[
]
Decline and extinction
The subspecies had always been rare and declining due to excessive hunting; it had not been seen for a few decades, and was declared to be extinct in the wild
A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...
in 1980. Recent genetic analysis of all reported specimens of ''G. d. saudiya'' in captive collections has shown these represent different species or hybrids.[ Despite frequent surveys attempting to find pure Saudi gazelles in the wild and privately owned, no evidence of surviving individuals has been found. In 2008, the Saudi gazelle was officially declared ]extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
on the IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...
.
See also
* Arabian ostrich
The Arabian ostrich (''Struthio camelus syriacus''), Syrian ostrich, or Middle Eastern ostrich is an extinct subspecies of the ostrich that lived on the Arabian Peninsula and in the Near East until the mid-20th century.
Distribution
Its range s ...
* Arabian gazelle
The Arabian gazelle ''(Gazella arabica)'' is a species of gazelle from the Arabian Peninsula.
Taxonomy
Until recently, it was only known from a single lectotype specimen mistakenly thought to have been collected on the Farasan Islands in the Red ...
References
External links
*
Saudi gazelle
The Saudi gazelle (''Gazella saudiya'') is a ''Gazella'' species that was once native to the Arabian Peninsula. It was declared extinct in the wild in 1996, as it was last observed in the wild in 1970. The Saudi gazelle was officially declared ex ...
Antelopes of Asia
Mammals of the Arabian Peninsula
Extinct mammals of Asia
Saudi gazelle
The Saudi gazelle (''Gazella saudiya'') is a ''Gazella'' species that was once native to the Arabian Peninsula. It was declared extinct in the wild in 1996, as it was last observed in the wild in 1970. The Saudi gazelle was officially declared ex ...
Mammal extinctions since 1500
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