Oryx
Oryx | |
---|---|
A male gemsbok (Oryx gazella) at Etosha National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Hippotraginae |
Genus: | Oryx de Blainville, 1816 |
Type species | |
Antilope oryx
, 1777 | |
Species | |
|
Oryx (
The Arabian oryx was only saved from extinction through a captive-breeding program and reintroduction to the wild.[1] The scimitar oryx, which was listed as extinct in the wild, also relied on a captive-breeding program for its survival.[2]
Etymology
The term "oryx" comes from the Greek word ὄρυξ, óryx, for a type of antelope. The Greek plural form is óryges, although "oryxes" has been established in English. Herodotus mentions a type of gazelle in Libya called ὄρυς, orus, probably related to the verb ὀρύσσω, orussō, or ὀρύττω, oruttō,[3] meaning "to dig". White oryxes are known to dig holes in the sand.
Species
Arabian oryx
The
Scimitar oryx
The scimitar oryx, also called the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), of North Africa used to be listed as extinct in the wild, but it is now declared as endangered. Unconfirmed surviving populations have been reported in central Niger and Chad, and a semi-wild population currently inhabiting a fenced nature reserve in Tunisia is being expanded for reintroduction to the wild in that country.[6] Several thousand are held in captivity around the world.[2]
East African oryx and gemsbok
The
Gemsbok were introduced in
At one time, numbers of oryx in New Mexico were estimated to be around 6,000 (original release numbers were less than 100). Today, numbers have been held around the 2,000 mark through managed hunting efforts. The success of the oryx in New Mexico is due in part to the abundance of food. In Africa, they eat grasses, forbs, and melons. In New Mexico, they feed on desert grasses, yucca, buffalo gourds, and mesquite bean pods. They are especially adapted to desert life and can go a long time without drinking water. This area also lacks a way to control the population. Lions and other natural predators cull the population in Africa, with only 10% of calves reaching one year of age. In New Mexico, predators like coyotes and mountain lions are not effective at controlling numbers, allowing the oryx to reproduce without restriction.[9] [10] [11] [12]
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Oryx dammah is the only oryx with clearly curved horns, an ochre neck, and no dark markings on the legs.
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Oryx beisa resembles the closely related O. gazella, but the latter has an entirely black tail and more black to the legs and lower flanks.
-
Oryx gazella
Classification
- Family Bovidae
- Subfamily Hippotraginae
- Genus Oryx
- Scimitar oryx, O. dammah
- Gemsbok, O. gazella
- East African oryx, O. beisa (formerly in O. gazella)
- Common beisa oryx, O. b. beisa
- Fringe-eared oryx, O. b. callotis
- Arabian oryx, O. leucoryx
- Genus Oryx
- Subfamily Hippotraginae
Ecology
All oryx species prefer near-desert conditions and can survive without water for long periods. They live in herds of up to 600 animals. Newborn calves are able to run with the herd immediately after birth. Both males and females possess permanent horns. The horns are narrow and straight except in the scimitar oryx, where they curve backwards like a
As an introduced species
Between 1969 and 1977, the
Oryxes in popular culture
The oryx is the national animal of Namibia, the
The main boss of the MMO game Realm of the Mad God is Oryx the Mad God, named after the creator of the original sprite sheets, Oryx. His four direct subordinates also bear the names of four South African species of oryx.
Oryxes appear briefly, along with many other species of animal, in the Talk Talk music video It's My Life.
In the video game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, a playable defending operator nicknamed Oryx was introduced in Year 5 Season 1. His ability is called "Remah Dash," where he can charge to break holes in walls and knock down enemies.
Oryx is a nickname for a character in Margaret Atwood's book Oryx and Crake.
Oryx is also the main antagonist’s name in the video game Destiny: The Taken King, a god who seeks vengeance on the player, known as a Guardian, after they killed his son Crota. He is killed by the player in the raid "King’s Fall". He is portrayed as "Oryx, the Taken King".
The Oryx is mentioned in Pliny's Natural History, in which he writes, "There is a wild beast, named by the Egyptians Oryx, which, when the star [Sirius] rises, is said to stand opposite to it, to look steadfastly at it, and then to sneeze, as if it were worshiping it."[17]
In the 1994 animated film and 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King and The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, the two species of oryxes in Hell's Gate National Park are the East African oryx and gemsbok.
See also
References
- ^ a b IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2017). "Oryx leucoryx". . Retrieved 11 November 2021.Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as Vulnerable.
- ^ . Retrieved 11 November 2021.Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as extinct in the wild.
- ^ Dr. J. H. Thiel, Beknopt Grieks-Nederlands Woordenboek 4e Ed.(Wolters Groningen
- ^ Bailey, T., O'Donovan, D., Lloyd. C., and Bailey, T. (2011). Editorial. Wildlife Middle East News 6(1). ISSN 1990-8237
- ^ Soul of the desert: How the Arabian oryx was saved from the brink of extinction, www.independent.co.uk
- ^ "Reviving a Breed", iht.com, January 2007, web: iht7. Archived September 4, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Oryx beisa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ "Oryx gazella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
- ^ AFB, Mailing Address: PO Box 1086 Holloman; Us, NM 88330 Phone: 575 479-6124 Contact. "African Oryx - White Sands National Park (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Oct. 22, Robert Rowley; Now, 2001 From the print edition Like Tweet Email Print Subscribe Donate (2001-10-22). "A graceful gazelle becomes a pest". www.hcn.org. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "New Mexico Oryx Hunting: A Bit of Africa in NM". OutdoorHub. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
- ^ "Trinity: World's First Nuclear Test". www.afnwc.af.mil. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
- ^ "Non-Native Species - White Sands National Park".
- ^ State of New Mexico, NM-PDF-Oryx.
- Flightglobal. March 8, 2006. Archived from the originalon May 27, 2014.
- Flightglobal. Archived from the originalon May 26, 2014.
- ^ "Pliny, Natural History, book 2, chapter 40". Classical Liberal Arts Society. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-09.