GAZELLE

A 'gazelle' is an antelope of the genus '''Gazella'''. Gazelles are known as swift animals; they are able to reach high speeds for long periods of time. Gazelles are mostly found in the grasslands and savannas of Africa, but they are also found in southwest Asia. They tend to live in herds and will eat less coarse, easily digestible plants and leaves.
The gazelle species are classified as part of the order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae and genus ''Gazella''. Members of the Articodacycla order are principally distinguished by the foot; they have an even number of toes (The bovid family comprises 6 genera and 12 species.) The taxonomy of the genus ''Gazella'' is a confused one, and the classification of species and subspecies has been an unsettled issue. Three species—the Red Gazelle, the Arabian Gazelle, and the Queen of Sheba's Gazelle—are extinct. All other gazelle species are listed as endangered, to varying degrees.
A recognizable example of the gazelle is Thomson's Gazelle (''Gazella thomsonii''), which is around 60 to 90 cm (23 to 35 inches) in height at the shoulder and is coloured brown and white with a distinguishing black stripe (as in the picture on the right). The males have long, often curved, horns. Tommies, as they are familiarly called, exhibit a distinctive behaviour of ''stotting'' (running slowly and jumping high before fleeing) when they are threatened by predators such as lions or cheetahs. This is a primary piece of evidence for the handicap principle advanced by Amotz Zahavi in the study of animal communication and behaviour.

Contents

Gallery

Species

Extinct

Recent extinctions

Prehistoric extinctions

Gazelles in fiction

Gallery

Species

★ Subgenus ''Gazella''

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★ Mountain Gazelle, ''G. gazella''

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★ Speke's Gazelle, ''G. spekei''

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★ Dorcas Gazelle, ''G. dorcas''

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★ Saudi Gazelle, ''G. saudiya''

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★ Chinkara, also known as Indian Gazelle, ''G. bennettii''

★ Subgenus ''Eudorcas''

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★ Thomson's Gazelle, ''G. thomsonii''

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★ Red-fronted Gazelle, ''G. rufifrons''

★ Subgenus ''Nanger''

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★ Dama Gazelle, ''G. dama''

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★ Grant's Gazelle, ''G. granti''

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★ Soemmerring's Gazelle, ''G. soemmerringii''

★ Subgenus ''Trachelocele''

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★ Cuvier's Gazelle, ''G. cuvieri''

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★ Rhim Gazelle, ''G. leptoceros''

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★ Goitered Gazelle, ''G. subgutturosa''

Extinct

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 Ice Age, but they survived in Africa and Middle East. Three species become extinct in recent times due to human causes

Recent extinctions

★ Subgenus ''Gazella''
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★ Arabian Gazelle, ''G. arabica''
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★ Queen of Sheba's Gazelle, ''G. bilkis''

★ Subgenus ''Eudorcas
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★ Red Gazelle, ''G. rufina''

Prehistoric extinctions

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★ ''Gazella borbonica'' - European Gazelle

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★ ''Gazella thomasi' - Thomas's Gazelle

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★ ''Gazella praethomsoni''

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★ ''Gazella negevensis''

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★ ''Gazella triquetrucornis''

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★ ''Gazella negevensis''

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★ ''Gazella capricornis''

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★ ''Gazella mytilinii''

★ Subgenus ''Vetagazella''

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★ ''Gazella sinensis''

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★ ''Gazella deperdita''

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★ ''Gazella pilgrimi''- Steppe Gazelle

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★ ''Gazella leile'' - Leile's Gazelle

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★ ''Gazella praegaudryi'' - Japanese Gazelle

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★ ''Gazella gaudryi''

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★ ''Gazella paotehensis''

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★ ''Gazella dorcadoides''

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★ ''Gazella altidens''

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★ ''Gazella mongolica'' - Mongolian Gazelle

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★ ''Gazella lydekkeri'' - Ice Age Gazelle

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★ ''Gazella blacki''

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★ ''Gazella parasinensis''

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★ ''Gazella kueitensis''

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★ ''Gazella paragutturosa''

★ Subgenus ''Gazella''

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★ ''Gazella janenschi''

★ Subgenus ''Trachelocele''

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★ ''Gazella atlantica''

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★ ''Gazella tingitana''

★ Subgenus ''Nanger''

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★ ''Gazella vanhoepeni''

★ Subgenus ''Deprezia''

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★ ''Gazella psolea''
by siobhan

Gazelles in fiction

Gazelles are depicted quite often in fiction from books to tv sitcom. Here is one example as shown in the right.