Goiter gazelle
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Goiter gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa ) |
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| Gazella subgutturosa | ||||||||||||
| ( Güldenstädt , 1780) |
The goiter gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa ) is an Asiatic gazelle from the family of hornbeams (Bovidae). It owes its name to a cartilaginous thickened larynx of the males to increase the volume of the rutting calls.
distribution
Of all the species of the genus Gazella , the crop gazelle penetrates the furthest north. It inhabits the steppes and semi-deserts from Transcaucasia , Palestine and Arabia via Iran , Azerbaijan and Turkestan to the Gobi desert and northern China .
Appearance
Most of the subspecies are light brown to sand in color. The underside is always lighter. A face mask can only be clearly seen in younger animals. Goiter gazelles are somewhat more robust than other gazelles and reach a shoulder height of 50–65 cm and a weight of 30–40 kg. As a rule, only the bucks have the horns bent backwards like a lyre. The females are usually polled. The goiter gazelles are among the fastest land mammals in the world. They reach 70 km / h.
Duration
There is evidence that goiter gazelles were hunted with the help of so-called desert dragons as early as the Neolithic . This put the species itself under pressure. In some regions, such as the fertile crescent, stocks collapsed completely during this time. Around 1900 an estimated one million goitered gazelles still inhabited the steppe landscapes in Kazakhstan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan . Due to the increased use of firearms since the 1940s, the populations in this region have decreased to less than 50,000 animals. Most of these dispersed populations are small, isolated herds. In addition, around 100,000 goiter gazelles live in Mongolia . There are also larger stocks in northwest China , parts of Iran and the Caucasus . The herds that are on some islands in the Caspian Sea is and the Persian Gulf, was probably cleared for imported animals. According to IUCN data, the total population was estimated at 120,000 to 140,000 animals in 2001, but has since declined sharply. The crop gazelle is therefore classified as "endangered".
Way of life
Since the crop gazelle lives further north than other gazelles, it is more dependent on the seasons and, in contrast to its more southern relatives, has a fixed rutting period. From September onwards, the strong bucks gather a few females around them and defend them against rivals. A few weeks later, the females reunite to form larger herds and the males leave their company. At the beginning of winter, they leave the snow-covered zones in the northern regions of the distribution area and collect in warmer valleys with less rainfall. During the winter they form large herds at times.
The populations from Syria once migrated south to Saudi Arabia every autumn and returned near the Euphrates in spring to give birth to their fawns . In contrast to most other gazelle species, twin births are not uncommon. Goiter gazelles feed on grass, herbs, leaves and shoots in a variety of ways.
Subspecies
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The following subspecies have been described:
- Mongolian goiter gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa hilleriana ): Mongolia; endangered
- Tibetan goiter gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa reginae ): Northern Tibet, northwest Tsaidam ; secured
- Djungarian goiter gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa sairensis ): Djungarian and eastern Balkash , northwards to the Tarbagatai mountains ; endangered
- Seistan goiter gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa seistanica ): Seistan in Eastern Persia, Balochistan , Afghanistan ; largely exterminated
- Persian goiter gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa ): Transcaucasia, Persia , Mesopotamia , Russian Turkestan; Largely exterminated in Persia and Mesopotamia, still secured in Russian Turkestan
- Jarkand goiter gazelle or Saikik gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa yarkandensis ): Plains in Yarkant , Xinjiang ; secured
Sometimes the endangered sand gazelle or Arabian goiter gazelle ( Gazelle marica ) was listed as a subspecies of the goiter gazelle. This is widespread on the Arabian Peninsula and is almost white in color, in its homeland it is called Rhim. Molecular genetic studies show that the crop gazelle in its original definition is polyphyletic and the sand gazelle is a species of its own. According to these studies, the crop gazelle is more closely related to the Indian gazelle ( Gazella bennetti ), whereas the sand gazelle is related to the North African dune gazelle ( Gazella leptoceros ) and the cuvier gazelle ( Gazella cuvieri ).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th ed. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore / London 1999, ISBN 0-8018-3970-X .
- H. Lingen: Large Lexicon of Animals. Lingen, Cologne 1975, 1989, Grünwald, Greil 1989, ISBN 3-89430-152-X .
- D. Macdonald: The Great Encyclopedia of Mammals. Könemann, Königswinter 2004, ISBN 3-8331-1006-6 .
- JR Ellerman, TC Stuart Morrison-Scott: Palearctic and Indian Mammals 1758 to 1946. Trustees of the British Museum, London 1951, 1966.
- Bernhard Grzimek: Encyclopedia of Mammals. Kindler, Zurich 1988. ISBN 3-463-42002-3 .
- Theodor Halthenorth, W. Trense: The big game of the earth and its trophies. Bayerischer Landwirtschaftsverlag, Bonn / Munich / Vienna 1956.
Individual evidence
- Jump up ↑ Goiter gazelle in the Cologne Zoo. (No longer available online.) Alexander Sliwa, June 27, 2013, archived from the original on April 18, 2015 ; Retrieved October 19, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Desert dragons: Gazelle hunt ended in mass slaughter
- ↑ Timothy Wacher, Torsten Wronski, Robert L. Hammond, Bruce Winney, Mark J. Blacket, Kris J. Hundertmark, Osama B. Mohammed, Sawsan A. Omer, William Macasero, Hannes Lerp, Martin Plath and Christoph Bleidorn: Phylogenetic analysis of Mitochondrial DNA sequences reveals polyphyly in the goitred gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa). Conservation Genetics 12, 2011, pp. 827-831.
Web links
- Gazella subgutturosa in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Mallon, 2005. Retrieved on 10 May, 2006.