Boselaphini is a

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

of bovines. It contains only two

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

, each with a single extant

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

Description

The Boselaphini or four-horned

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

tribe are the last survivors of a form very similar to that of the ancestors of the broader subfamily. The oldest fossil members of the tribe, such as ''

Eotragus ''Eotragus'' is an extinct genus of early bovid. Species belonging to the genus inhabited Europe, Africa, and Asia during the Miocene some 20-18 million years ago. It is related to the modern nilgai and four-horned antelope. It was small and pr ...

'', date to the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

about 18 to 20 million years ago. Such fossils possessed horns very similar to those of males belonging to the two living species, although in some cases, they were also present in females. Both extant species have relatively primitive anatomical and behavioural characteristics and the females have no horns. They are native to the rapidly diminishing forests of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and tend to avoid open plains. The

nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest antelope of Asia, and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Boselaphus'', which was ...

has been introduced into southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

where a population of a little under 15,000 animals provides some long-term insurance for its survival.

Genera

Extant species

Phylogeny

The following are the genera classified under the tribe. Genera marked with † are extinct. Tribe Boselaphini * '' Boselaphus'' **'' Boselaphus tragocamelus'' -

Nilgai The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest antelope of Asia, and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Boselaphus'', which was ...

or blue bull (not to be confused with the extinct

bluebuck The bluebuck (Afrikaans: bloubok ) or blue antelope (''Hippotragus leucophaeus'') is an extinct species of antelope that lived in South Africa until around 1800. It was smaller than the other two species in its genus ''Hippotragus,'' the roan a ...

''Hippotragus leucophaeus'') * †'' Elachistoceras'' * †'' Duboisia'' * †'' Dystychoceras'' * †''

'' * †'' Pachyportax'' * †'' Perimia'' * †'' Phronetragus'' * †'' Pliodorcas'' * †'' Plioportax'' * †'' Proboselaphus'' * †'' Ruticeros'' * †'' Samokeros'' * †'' Selenoportax'' * †'' Sivaportax'' * †'' Sivoreas'' * †'' Strogulognathus'' * ''

Tetracerus The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), also called ''chousingha'', is a small bovid antelope native to central, South and Western India, along with a smaller population in Nepal. The sole member of the genus ''Tetracerus'', t ...

'' ** '' Tetracerus quadricornis'' -

Four-horned antelope The four-horned antelope (''Tetracerus quadricornis''), also called ''chousingha'', is a small bovid antelope native to central, South and Western India, along with a smaller population in Nepal. The sole member of the genus ''Tetracerus'', t ...

* †'' Tragoreas''

References

Antelopes Mammals of India Mammal tribes {{eventoedungulate-stub