The Saudi gazelle (''Gazella saudiya'') is a ''

Gazella A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . There are also seven species included in two further genera; '' Eudorcas'' and '' Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third former subgenus, ' ...

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), ...

that was once native to the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. It was declared

extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as only consisting of living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range ...

in 1996, as it was last observed in the wild in 1970. The Saudi gazelle was officially declared

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

in 2008.

Taxonomy

'' Gazella gazella saudiya'' was the

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

proposed by

Douglas Carruthers Alexander Douglas Mitchell Carruthers (4 October 1882 – 23 May 1962) was an explorer and naturalist of some repute. He was the son of the Reverend William Mitchell Carruthers of Holbrook, Suffolk, Holbrook, and was an explorer in the Middle ...

and Ernst Schwarz in 1939. They described the skull and head skin of a male gazelle specimen collected at an elevation of near Dhlam in Saudi Arabia. Terence Morrison-Scott recognised it as a distinct

''Gazella saudiya'' in 1939.

Colin Groves Colin Peter Groves (24 June 1942 – 30 November 2017) was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist. Groves was professor of biological anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Education Born in Englan ...

examined horn shapes and sizes of zoological specimens of gazelles and recognised the Saudi gazelle as a subspecies of the

Dorcas gazelle The dorcas gazelle (''Gazella dorcas''), also known as the ariel gazelle, is a small and common gazelle. The dorcas gazelle stands about at the shoulder, with a head and body length of and a weight of . The numerous subspecies survive on veget ...

''Gazella dorcas saudiya'' in 1969.

Phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analysis of museum samples of the Saudi gazelle revealed that it is distinct from and a

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

of the Dorcas gazelle.

Distribution and habitat

The Saudi gazelle once lived in gravel and sandy plains with

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...

s of the northern and western

from

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, with most of the records coming from western

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. It was found singly or in groups up to 20.

Decline and extinction

The subspecies had always been rare and declining due to excessive hunting; it had not been seen for a few decades, and was declared to be

in 1980. Recent genetic analysis of all reported specimens of ''G. d. saudiya'' in captive collections has shown these represent different species or hybrids. Despite frequent surveys attempting to find pure Saudi gazelles in the wild and privately owned, no evidence of surviving individuals has been found. In 2008, the Saudi gazelle was officially declared

on the

References

External links

Saudi gazelle The Saudi gazelle (''Gazella saudiya'') is a ''Gazella'' species that was once native to the Arabian Peninsula. It was declared extinct in the wild in 1996, as it was last observed in the wild in 1970. The Saudi gazelle was officially declared ex ...

Antelopes of Asia Mammals of the Arabian Peninsula Extinct mammals of Asia

Mammal extinctions since 1500 {{eventoedungulate-stub

Taxonomy

Distribution and habitat

Decline and extinction

See also

References

External links