Scimitar oryx
Scimitar oryx | |
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Adult at the Taronga Zoo | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Hippotraginae |
Genus: | Oryx |
Species: | O. dammah
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Binomial name | |
Oryx dammah (Cretzschmar, 1827)
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The scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah), also known as the scimitar-horned oryx and the Sahara oryx, is an Oryx species that was once widespread across North Africa. In 2000, it was declared extinct in the wild on the IUCN Red List. This particular oryx is adapted to harsh desert conditions and can survive for months or even years without drinking water. A grazing animal, it derives most of its daily moisture intake from plants.
The decline of the scimitar oryx population began as a result of climate change during the
The scimitar oryx was the emblem of the ancient Egyptian Oryx nome and today is the animal symbol of the Sahara Conservation Fund.
Taxonomy and naming
The scimitar oryx is a member of the genus Oryx and the family Bovidae. German naturalist Lorenz Oken first described it in 1816, naming it Oryx algazel. The nomenclature has undergone various changes since then, with the introduction of names such as Oryx tao, O. leucoryx, O. damma, O. dammah, O. bezoarticus, and O. ensicornis. In 1826, Philipp Jakob Cretzschmar used the name Oryx ammah for the species. A year later, the name Oryx leucoryx came into use, but as this was a synonym of the Arabian oryx (then called Oryx beatrix), it was abandoned, and Oryx algazel was accepted once more. Over 100 years later in 1951, Sir John Ellerman and Terence Morrison-Scott found that the name Oryx algazel was also ineligible for use. Finally, in January 1956, the International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature accepted Oryx dammah as the scientific name. No more changes have been made since then, though many papers published after 1956 created confusion by using names such as O. gazella tao.[3]
Its scientific name, Oryx dammah, is derived from: Ancient Greek ὄρυξ (orux), meaning a gazelle or antelope (originally a pickaxe[4]); Latin damma (fallow deer or antelope); and Arabic dammar (sheep).[5] The scimitar oryx is named for its horns,[6] which resemble scimitars.[5] Its common name in English is "scimitar-horned oryx", or simply "scimitar oryx".[3]
Genetics and evolution
The scimitar oryx has 58
In another study, intended to note genetic differences between Oryx species,
Physical description
The scimitar oryx is a straight-horned antelope that stands just over 1 m (3.3 ft) at the shoulder. The males weigh 140–210 kg (310–460 lb) and the females 91–140 kg (201–309 lb).[10] The body measures 140–240 cm (55–94 in) from the head to the base of the tail. The tail is 45–60 cm (18–24 in) long and ends with a tuft. They are sexually dimorphic with males being larger than females.[11]
Its
Both male and female oryxes have horns, with the females' being more slender.
Diseases and parasites
The scimitar oryx can be infected with
Ecology and behavior
The scimitar oryx was a very sociable animal and traveled in herds of two to 40 individuals, generally, led by a
Adaptations
With a metabolism that functions at the high temperatures prevalent in their habitats, scimitar oryxes need less water for evaporation to help conduct heat away from the body, enabling them to go for long periods without water. They can allow their body temperatures to rise to almost 46.5 °C (115.7 °F) before beginning to perspire.[6] In times of ample supply, oryx can use fluid loss through urination and feces to lower their body temperatures to below 36 °C (97 °F) at night, giving more time before reaching maximum body temperature the following day.[15] They can tolerate high temperatures that would be lethal to most mammals. They have a network of fine blood vessels that carries blood from the heart to the brain, passing close to the nasal passage, thus allowing the blood to cool by up to 3 °C (5 °F) before reaching the brain, which is one of the more heat-sensitive organs of the body.[14][15]
Diet
The habitat of the scimitar oryx in the wild was steppe and desert, where they ate foliage, grass, herbs, shrubs, succulent plants, legumes, juicy roots, buds, and fruit.
Reproduction
Both males and females reach
Courting is done by means of a mating circle; the male and female stand parallel to one another, facing in opposite directions, and then circle around each other until the female allows the male to mount from behind. If the female is not ready to mate, she runs away and circles in the reverse direction.
Habitat and distribution
The scimitar oryx once inhabited grassy steppes, semideserts[15] and deserts in a narrow strip of central north Africa (especially in Niger and Chad).[6] It was widespread on the fringes of the Sahara, mainly in subdesert steppe, the grassy zone between the real desert and the Sahel, an area characterized by an annual rainfall of 75–150 mm (3.0–5.9 in). In 1936, a single herd of 10,000 scimitar oryxes was seen in the steppe area of Chad. By the mid-1970s, Chad was home to more than 95% of the world population of this species.[23]
Status and conservation
Following the
The IUCN lists the scimitar oryx as extirpated in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara, and has assessed it as extinct in the wild since 2000. Reports of sightings in Chad and Niger remain unsubstantiated, despite extensive surveys carried out throughout Chad and Niger from 2001 to 2004 in an effort to detect antelopes in the Sahel and the Sahara. At least until 1985, 500 scimitar oryxes were estimated to be surviving in Chad and Niger, but by 1988, only a few individuals survived in the wild.[1]
A global captive-breeding program now exists for the scimitar oryx.
Chad is currently leading a project to reintroduce the species in
The Marwell Zoo in Hampshire and the Edinburgh Zoo have also worked in partnership with ZSL to help reintroduce captive-bred scimitar oryx to their former natural ranges.[32] The Tunisian reintroductions began in 1985 with 10 scimitar oryx from the Marwell and Edinburgh Zoos (co-ordinated by ZSL). In 1999 and 2007, Marwell co-ordinated the release of scimitar oryx into three more protected areas within their former historic range.
In culture
Ancient times
In ancient Egypt, scimitar oryxes were domesticated
Unicorn myth
The myth of the one-horned unicorn may have originated from sightings of injured scimitar oryxes; Aristotle and Pliny the Elder held that the oryx was the unicorn's "prototype".[33] From certain angles, the oryx may seem to have one horn rather than two,[34][35] and given that its horns are made from hollow bone that cannot be regrown, if a scimitar oryx were to lose one of its horns, for the rest of its life it would have only one.[33]
Modern times
In 2015, Yellow Nose, a scimitar oryx that lives in Portland, Oregon, escaped and startled hikers in Forest Park.[36] The following day, he was caught and returned home.[37]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b "EAD successfully reintroduces 25 Scimitar Horned Oryx in Chad". Archived from the original on 2016-04-25.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9521397-2-0. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-08-04.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "oryx". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Huffman, B. "Oryx dammah (Scimitar-horned oryx)". Ultimate Ungulate.
- ^ a b c d e f "Scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah)". ARKive. Archived from the original on 2008-10-26.
- PMID 8206781.
- S2CID 19676013.
- S2CID 40322591.
- ISBN 978-1-58544-555-4.
- ISBN 978-977-416-254-1.
- ^ a b c "Scimitar-horned Oryx (Oryx dammah)". World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).
- ^ a b "Oryx dammah" (PDF). Sahelo-Saharan Megafauna. Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes.
- ^ a b c "Scimitar-horned Oryx". National Zoological Park.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Johnson, H. "Oryx dammah". University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ a b "Scimitar-horned oryx". Safari West.
- ^ Zoon, J. (22 March 2012). "Elderly Oryx Dies at Smithsonian's National Zoo". Smithsonian Newsdesk. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
- PMID 15567578.
- S2CID 19339093.
- PMID 12049259.
- PMID 10749451.
- S2CID 5707532.
- ISBN 978-2-8317-0016-8.
- ^ .
- ^ "Oryx dammah (O. tao)". Animal Info.
- .
- ISBN 978-92-807-2871-2. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
- .
- ^ "SCF Oryx Project receives strong presidential support – SCF – Sahara Conservation Fund". Sahara Conservation Fund. Archived from the original on 2016-04-15.
- ^ Technical Workshop on the Reintroduction of Scimitar-horned Oryx to the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve, Chad, May 2–4, 2012. Sahara Conservation Fund.
- ^ a b c "Scimitar-horned oryx returns to Sahara". Zoological Society of London (ZSL). 14 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
- ^ "Days out in Hampshire | Family day out near me".
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-03268-1.
- ^ "Arabian Oryx". Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Archived from the original on 2007-10-10. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
- ISBN 9780939456000.
- ^ Hammond, B. (2015). "An elk? An oryx? Large, unusual-looking horned animal reported on Germantown Road in Forest Park". The Oregonian.
- ^ Mayes, S. (2015). "Yellow Nose, the oryx wandering Northwest Portland's Forest Park, has been caught". The Oregonian.
External links
- Media related to Oryx dammah at Wikimedia Commons
- Data related to Oryx dammah at Wikispecies
- Oryx dammah at Encyclopedia of Life
- https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/environment/2021/12/22/abu-dhabi-sends-critically-endangered-animals-to-chad/?outputType=amp