Bushbuck

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Zambia schirrantilope ( Tragelaphus ornatus )

The bushbuck is a species complex of different, more or less closely related African antelope species of the genus Tragelaphus . Originally they were listed in a single species and named Tragelaphus scriptus .

description

The color and pattern of the bushbuck vary greatly depending on the region, from light to dark brown to reddish brown and from a few light areas to numerous white stripes and spots. All animals have a conspicuous white marking on the neck and chest, which varies depending on the species. The males have 50 cm long, sharp, twisted horns and a mane that runs along the spine. This can be put upright on display.

The adult animals reach a body length of 1.1 to 1.5 m and a weight between 25 and 80 kg, with a shoulder height of 75 to 110 cm. Males are significantly larger and darker than females.

distribution

Distribution area of ​​the bushbuck
Southern schirrantilope ( Tragelaphus sylvaticus )

The distribution area of ​​the animals is sub-Saharan Africa. Among other things, they are in the national parks Addo Elephant , St. Lucia , Hluhluwe / Umfolozi , Kruger , Moremi , Chobe , Mana Pools , Kafue , South Luangwa , Nyika , Upemba , Arusha , Lake Manyara , Mudumu , Ngorongoro , Ruwenzori , Virunga , Garamba , Queen Elizabeth , Mount Elgon , Marsabit , Samburu , Meru , Mount Kenya , Aberdare , Masai Mara and Nairobi . An unusual settlement of the bushbuck took place in 1976 in the Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary in the Philippines . It is the only population of bush buck outside of Africa.

habitat

Their preferred habitat are forests and bushes near the water. They also live in wooded ravines along dry watercourses. The bushbuck reaches altitudes of up to 4000 meters in mountain forests. Occasionally the animals visit the outskirts of towns and gardens.

Way of life

Bushbucks mostly live solitary or in pairs. They are both diurnal and nocturnal and feed on leaves, shoot tips, grasses, herbs and fruits. The animals move skillfully in the densest vegetation, where they leave tunnel-like changes. They often go to the water to swim. When distressed, they jump up and give out a call that resembles barking dogs. After a gestation period of 7½ months, only one young is placed.

Systematics

Originally the bushbuck were grouped together in one species ( Tragelaphus scriptus ) and a distinction was made within these two subspecies, the Delameres bushbuck ( Tragelaphus scriptus delamerei ) and the Schirrantilope ( Tragelaphus scriptus scriptus ; the name Schirrantilope comes from the fur pattern that resembles a harness). Sometimes up to 40 subspecies were recognized. However, a molecular genetic study from 2009 showed that the bushbuck form a species complex of two or more species. In a revision of the hornbeams, published in 2011 by Colin Peter Groves and Peter Grubb , a total of eight species were distinguished into two species groups. The following representatives will be placed with the bushbucks today:

  • Tragelaphus scriptus group
  • Tragelaphus sylvaticus group

According to the genetic studies from 2009 based on mitochondrial DNA , the representatives of the Tragelaphus scriptus group are more closely related to the Nyala ( Nyala angasii ), those of the Tragelaphus sylvaticus group are related to the Bongo ( Tragelaphus eurycerus ) and the Sitatunga ( Tragelaphus spekeii ) . The bushbuck may have originated in the Pliocene around 3.9 million years ago in northeastern Africa, when, unlike today, there were still dense forests. Around 2.5 million years ago in the transition to the Pleistocene , the two groups of species split up, with the scriptus group then penetrating into western Africa and the sylvaticus group into southern Africa. Analyzes of the core DNA from 2018 confirmed the separation of the two bushbuck groups. Here, however, both form a sister group relationship . The different results in the analyzes of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA may be due to hybridization events between T. scriptus forms and the nyala in the past. In addition, there were marked differences in the chromosome set of the two clades , which is 2n = 57M / 58F in T. scriptus and 2n = 33M / 34F in T. sylvaticus . Here, after the separation of the two clades and in the course of supra-species hybridization, there was a massive chromosomal restructuring in T. scriptus .

literature

  • Colin P. Groves and David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 597-610
  • Chris and Tilde Stuart: Southern, Central and East African Mammals. A photographic guide . 2nd ed. Struik Publ., Cape Town 2002, ISBN 1-86872-621-5 .
  • Herwart Stehr (Red.): The modern animal dictionary, Vol. 2 . Lexicon Institute Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1981, ISBN 3-570-06782-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Palawan Council for Sustainable Development
  2. ↑ a b Yoshan Moodley, Michael W. Bruford, Christoph Bleidorn, Torsten Wronski, Ann Apio and Martin Plath: Analysis of mitochondrial DNA data reveals non-monophyly in the bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) complex. Mammalian Biology - Journal of Mammalian Science 74 (5), 2009, pp. 418-422 doi: 10.1016 / j.mambio.2008.05.003
  3. ↑ Colin P. Groves and David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 597-610
  4. ↑ Colin Groves and Peter Grubb: Ungulate Taxonomy. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4214-0093-8 , pp. 1–317 (SS 108–280)
  5. ↑ Yoshan Moodley and Michael W. Bruford: Molecular Biogeography: Towards an Integrated Framework for Conserving Pan-African Biodiversity. PLOS ONE 2 (5), 2007, p. E454 doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0000454
  6. ↑ Alexandre Hassanin, Marlys L. Houck, Didier Tshikung, Blaise Kadjo, Heidi Davis and Anne Ropiquet: Multi-locus phylogeny of the tribe Tragelaphini (Mammalia, Bovidae) and species delimitation in bushbuck: Evidence for chromosomal speciation mediated by interspecific hybridization. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 129, 2018, pp. 96-105

Web links

Commons : Bushbuck  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files