Spiral horned antelope

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The spiral horn antelope ("Pseudonovibos spiralis") is a supposed representative of the horn-bearers from Southeast Asia , whose existence has not yet been proven. Since no scientist has ever seen this animal, cryptozoology is mainly concerned with this antelope. In both German and English-language literature, the animal is often called by its Vietnamese name Linh Duong or by its Cambodian name Kting Voar .

Origins and references

In 1993, German scientists bought several horns and pairs of horns from horn-bearers from dealers in Saigon in the south of Vietnam , the structure of which differed from all known horns according to studies. In the following year, the German zoologists Wolfgang Peter and Alfred Feiler described the new genus and species "Pseudonovibos spiralis" based on eight horn sheaths of presumably six animals. The horns are now in the Museum für Tierkunde Dresden , the holotype , a pair of horns, bears the catalog number MTD B18479. At the time, the horns of a dozen animals were known. The researchers did not see a living specimen, but according to local residents the animal is rather rare, but existent and should be widespread in the highlands of Đà Lạt . The local name would therefore be Linh Duong , which roughly translates as "mountain goat". Further horns of the enigmatic antelope were acquired from 1994 to 1995 in northeastern Cambodia , which is connected to the assumed distribution area to the west. The local residents called the animal Kting Voar , in German "wild cow with lianic horns" or Kting Sipuoh , in German "wild cow that eats snakes". Previously, two similarly designed horns were known from the Natural History Museum of the University of Kansas , which date back to 1929 and come from South Vietnam about 125 km northeast of Saigon; at that time they would be the oldest reference to the species, but were first interpreted as the horns of Kouprey ( Bos sauveli ). The original confusion of the oldest available material with the Kouprey prompted Peter and Feiler to assign the scientific name "Pseudonovibos" in their first description, which is derived from the Greek word ψεύδω ( pseudo , "I pretend ") and the name Novibos as an alternative name for the Kouprey composes.

“Pseudonovibos spiralis” was discovered in the Truong Son region in Southeast Asia, which is considered a biodiversity hotspot . Numerous species of even-toed ungulates were discovered here in the 1990s , including the saola ( Pseudoryx nghetinhensis ) and the giant muntjac ( Muntiacus vuquangensis ). Therefore, the description of another representative of the horn carrier was not unusual, the IUCN classified the type 1996 on its Red List as a precaution with a status of "endangered" ( endangered one). In 1997, various collections of Chinese texts from the 15th to 18th centuries could be presented, which showed images of animals with a goat-like appearance and horns that roughly correspond to those of "Pseudonovibos spiralis".

On the presumed appearance and way of life of "Pseudonovibos spiralis"

When viewed together, the horns have the shape of a lyre. They are directed outwards and upwards before they bend inwards in the last quarter and describe a small spiral. The horn length varies between 30.8 cm and 55.8 cm. Noteworthy are the transverse corrugations, which have a relatively even distance of 1.5 to 2.5 cm from one another, but which increases slightly towards the tip. Depending on the length, the horns have 13 to 21 corrugations, the surface between the individual bulges is smooth. On the back, the corrugations are interrupted by a longitudinal bar. There are two different types of horns that the researchers say could possibly be traced back to sexual dimorphism . One horn type has a round cross-section, the second a laterally flattened to keeled type, the latter should therefore belong to males. The basic color of the horns is mostly black.

From the nature and size of the horns an animal with a shoulder height of 110 to 120 cm and a weight of 200 to 300 kg can be inferred. According to information from local hunters, it is outwardly similar to a buffalo and has a monochrome black-gray coat. Long live in small family groups in mountain forests. The region's climate is characterized by high temperatures and annual rainfall around 1500 to 2500 mm.

Problematic assignments

The first descriptors of "Pseudonovibos spiralis" favored a close position with the gazelle-like (Antilopini) and saw a possible relationship to the crop gazelle ( Gazella subgutturosa ) or the Mongolian gazelle ( Procapra gutturosa ). A first DNA analysis was carried out in 1999 on the paratype of the found material in Dresden. She spoke for a closer relationship with the goat-like (Caprini). Another genetic analysis was presented in 2001. One of the scientists involved had purchased the necessary material in 1995 as a pair of horns from a descendant of a hunter who, according to statements, captured the animal around 1920. The results suggested a connection with the cattle (Bovini), especially Bubalus and Syncerus . A morphological study of the horns from the University of Kansas also suggested a relationship with the cattle; a trivial name was also introduced with spiral-horned ox , which, in the opinion of the authors, was based on the possible relationship and the shape of the horns, On the other hand the Khmer designation Kting Voar bill wore, which was regarded as the presumed local name.

Fake or real living being?

A review of the result, carried out two years after the first genetic analysis in 1999, including all known goat-like gene sequences, which was not originally carried out, revealed a close relationship between "Pseudonovibos spiralis" and chamois ( Rupicapra rupicapra ). Since this relationship is to be regarded as unlikely for biogeographical and evolutionary reasons, the result was attributed to contamination of the sample.

Also in 2001, French scientists working with Alexandre Hassanin and Herbert Thomas published a further genetic and a first histological study on six additional horns, two of which came from new acquisitions in Cambodia, but four came from a cotton planter who received them in 1925 and which themselves now privately owned. These were still connected to the bony horn cones, with anatomical and genetic studies showing them to be classified as domestic cattle ( Bos taurus ). The histological examinations then showed that the conspicuous corrugations of the horn sheaths, which were considered typical of "Pseudonovibos spiralis", had been artificially created: The individual, naturally formed layers of the keratin did not run continuously, as would be expected with normal growth , but were interrupted in the areas of the bulges and depressions, which is to be interpreted as an indication of subsequent manipulation. An appraisal of the holotype material from Dresden, which was not carried out in detail, also provided evidence of an artificial production of the corrugations, possibly based on a water buffalo horn ( Bubalus bubalis ).

In a repetition of the genetic analysis from 2001, which showed a close relationship to the African and Asian wild cattle, Hassanin was able to demonstrate, on the basis of RNA sequence analyzes, that the samples used were chimeras of three different species: domestic cattle and water buffalo and the saiga ( Saiga tatarica ). A survey of local traders in Southeast Asia undertaken during the same period led to the finding that such horns, as they were characterized as typical for "Pseudonovibos spiralis", are artificially produced and are part of folklore that, based on the age of some finds, are at least up to can be traced back to the 1920s. According to this, the horn sheath is removed from the cone and soaked in vinegar , then later heated in leaves of sugar palms and bamboo until it is soft. Then the tip is turned and the corrugation is pressed in. The horns of water buffalo and domestic cattle were mostly used as the basis. All of these studies confirm the previous assumptions that the material on which the initial description is based is forgery or artificially modified material. The test results indicate that “Pseudonovibos spiralis” does not exist. The long-standing controversy over the existence of the species found expression in the respected journals Nature and Science .

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  1. ↑ a b c Wolfgang P. Peter and Alfred Feiler: Horns from an unknown bovid species from Vietnam (Mammalia: Ruminantia). Faunistische Abhandlungen 19, 1994, pp. 247-253
  2. ↑ a b c d Wolfgang P. Peter and Alfred Feiler: A new bovid species from Vietnam and Cambodia (Mammalia: Ruminantia). Zoologische Abhandlungen 48 (2), 1994, pp. 169-176
  3. ↑ a b c M. Dioli: Notes on the morphology of the horns of a new artiodactyl mammal from Cambodia: Pseudonovibos spiralis. Journal of Zoology 241, 1997, pp. 527-531
  4. ^ Robert S. Hoffmann: A new locality record for the kouprey from Viet-Nam, and an archaeological record from China. Mammalia 50 (3), 1986, pp. 391-395
  5. ↑ M. Dioli: A clarification about the morphology of the horns of the female Kouprey. A new unknown bovid species from Cambodia. Mammalia 59 (4), 1995, pp. 663-667
  6. ↑ a b Robert M. Timm and John H. Brandt: Pseudonovibos spiralis (Artiodactyla: Bovidae): new information on this enigmatic South-east Asian ox. Journal of Zoology 253, 2001, pp. 157-166
  7. ↑ a b Alexandre Hassanin, Arnoult Seveau, Herbert Thomas, Hervé Bocherens, Daniel Billiou and Bui Xuan Nguyen: Evidence from DNA that the mysterious 'linh duong' (Pseudonovibos spiralis) is not a new bovid. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences Paris, Sciences de la vie 324, 2001, pp. 71-80
  8. ↑ Alastair MacDonald and Lixin Yang: Chinese sources suggest early knowledge of the unknown ungulate (Pseudonovibos spiralis) from Vietnam and Cambodia. Journal of Zoology 241, 1997, pp. 523-526
  9. ↑ a b A. Hassanin: Ancient specimens and DNA contamination: a case study from the 12S rRNA gene sequence of the "Linh Duong" bovid (Pseudonovibos spiralis) . Natural Sciences 89 (3), 2002, pp. 107-110 doi: 10.1007 / s00114-001-0291-x
  10. ↑ SE Hammer, F. Suchentrunk, R. Tiedemann, GB Hartl and A. Feiler: Mitochondrial DNA sequence relationships of the newly Described enigmatic Vietnamese bovid, Pseudonovibos spiralis. Natural Sciences 86 (6), 1999, pp. 279-280 doi: 10.1007 / s001140050614
  11. ^ GV Kuznetsov, EE Kulikov, NB Petrov, NV Ivanova, AA Lomov, MV Kholodova and AB Poltaraus: The "Linh Duong" Pseudonovibos spiralis (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) is a new buffalo. Natural Sciences 88 (3), 2001, pp. 123-12, doi: 10.1007 / s001140100207
  12. ^ German V. Kuznetsov, Eugene E. Kulikov, Nikolai B. Petrov, Natalia V. Ivanova, Alexei A. Lomov, Marina V. Kholodova and Andrey B. Poltaraus: Mitochondrial 12S rDNA Sequence Relationships Suggest That the Enigmatic Bovid “Linh Duong” Pseudonovibos spiralis Is Closely Related to Buffalo. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 23 (1), 2002, pp. 91-94
  13. ↑ A. Hassanin and EJP Douzery: Is the newly Described Vietnamese bovid Pseudonovibos spiralis a chamois (Rupicapra genus)? Natural Sciences 87 (3), 2000, pp. 122-124 doi: 10.1007 / s001140050688
  14. ↑ H. Thomas, A. Seveau, A. Hassanin: The enigmatic new Indochinese bovid, Pseudonovibos spiralis: an extraordinary forgery. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences Paris, Sciences de la vie 324, 2001, pp. 81-86
  15. ↑ Arnoult Seveau: Sur la piste da la vache fausse . Sciences et Avenir, Janvier 2001, pp. 80-84.
  16. ↑ John H. Brandt, Maurizio Dioli, Alexandre Hassanin, Richard A. Melville, Link E. Olson, Arnoult Seveau and Robert M. Timm: Debate on the authenticity of Pseudonovibos spiralisas a new species of wild bovid from Vietnam and Cambodia. Journal of Zoology 255, 2001, pp. 437-444
  17. ↑ Link E. Olson and Alexandre Hassanin: Contamination and chimerism are perpetuating the legend of the snake-eating cow with twisted horns (Pseudonovibos spiralis). A case study of the pitfalls of ancient DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 27, 2003, pp. 545-548
  18. ^ GJ Galbreath and RA Melville: Pseudonovibos spiralis: epitaph. Journal of Zoology 259, 2003, pp. 169-170
  19. ^ John Whitfield: Locking horns. Nature 415, 2002, p. 956
  20. ↑ David Malakoff: Horny dilemma. Science 291, 2001, p. 39