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gazelle

 
Dictionary: ga·zelle   (gə-zĕl') pronunciation
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n.
Any of various small, swift antelopes of the genus Gazella and related genera of Africa and Asia, characteristically having a slender neck and annulate horns.

[French, from Old French, from Arabic ġazāl.]


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: gazelle
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Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsoni).
(click to enlarge)
Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsoni). (credit: E.R. Degginger/EB Inc.)
Any of numerous species of graceful antelope (genus Gazella) found on open plains and arid lands from Mongolia to the Atlantic coast of North Africa and throughout eastern and central tropical Africa. Gazelles are 2 – 3 ft (60 – 90 cm) high at the shoulder. They range in herds that usually contain 5 to 10 individuals but may include several hundred. They are generally brown with white underparts and rump, and many have a horizontal dark band along each side. A light stripe runs down each side of the face. The horns have numerous raised rings and are variously shaped, but all are slightly upturned at the ends. Some species are considered endangered.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: gazelle
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gazelle, name for the many species of delicate, graceful antelopes of the genus Gazella, inhabiting arid, open country. Most gazelles are found only in Africa, but several species range over N Africa and SW Asia; the Persian, or goitered, gazelle (Gazella subgutterosa) is found only in S and central Asia. Gazelles are rather small antelopes, most standing from 2 to 3 ft (60-90 cm) high at the shoulder, and are generally fawn colored. Some are strikingly marked with black and white. In most the horns are heavily ringed and curve backward and inward in the form of a lyre. Gazelles live in herds on grassy plains and in scrub country. They are very swift animals; some can maintain a speed of 30 mi (48 km) per hr indefinitely, with bursts of 60 mi (96 km) per hour. They are also powerful jumpers. Largest of the gazelles is the addra, or dorcas gazelle (G. dorcas), of the Sahara Desert. It has very long legs and a long neck and is white over most of its body. Closely related to the true gazelles are the Tibetan and Mongolian gazelles (species of the genus Procapra), the blackbuck of Asia, and the African impala. Gazelles are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

Veterinary Dictionary: gazelle
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Very fast-moving, sandy-colored, small, wild ruminant with white rump and lyre-shaped, long horns. There are many species including impala and springbok. Called also Gazella spp.

Wikipedia: Gazelle
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Gazelle

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Genus: Gazella
Blainville, 1816
Species

Several, see text
This article is about the antelope species. For other uses, see Gazelle (disambiguation).

A gazelle (Arabic: غزال‎ ġazāl) is any of many antelope species currently or formerly in the genus Gazella. Six species are included in two genera (Eudorcas and Nanger) which were formerly considered subgenera. The genus Procapra has also been considered a subgenus of Gazella, and its members are also referred to as gazelles; however they are not dealt with in this article.

Gazelles are known as swift animals – some are able to maintain speeds as high as 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) for extended periods of time.[1] Gazelles are mostly found in the deserts, grasslands and savannas of Africa, but they are also found in southwest and central Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent. They tend to live in herds and will eat less coarse, easily digestible plants and leaves.

The gazelle species are classified in the Gazella, Eudorcas and Nager. The taxonomy of these genera is a confused one, and the classification of species and subspecies has been an unsettled issue. Currently, the genus Gazella is widely considered to contain about 13 species.[citation needed] Four further species are extinct – the Red Gazelle, the Arabian Gazelle, the Queen of Sheba's Gazelle and the Saudi Gazelle. Most surviving gazelle species are considered threatened to varying degrees.

One widely familiar gazelle is the African species Thomson's Gazelle (Eudorcas thomsoni), which is around 53 to 66 cm (21 to 26 in) 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. Like many other prey species, 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

Grant's Gazelle

Mhorr Gazelle

Cuvier's Gazelle

Grant's Gazelle

Mhorr Gazelle

Thomson's Gazelle

Goitered Gazelle

Chinkara

Dorcas Gazelle

Cuvier's Gazelle

Red-fronted Gazelle

Species[2]

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. Four species became extinct in recent times due to human causes.

Recent extinctions

Prehistoric extinctions

  • Genus Gazella
    • Gazella borbonica - European Gazelle
    • Gazella thomasi' - Thomas's Gazelle
    • Gazella praethomsoni
    • Gazella negevensis
    • Gazella triquetrucornis
    • Gazella negevensis
    • Gazella capricornis'
  • Subgenus Vetagazella
    • Gazella sinensis
    • Gazella deperdita
    • Gazella pilgrimi- Steppe Gazelle
    • Gazella leile - Leile's Gazelle
    • Gazella praegaudryi - Japanese Gazelle
    • Gazella gaudryi
    • Gazella paotehensis
    • Gazella dorcadoides
    • Gazella altidens
    • Gazella mongolica - Mongolian Gazelle
    • Gazella lydekkeri - Ice Age Gazelle
    • Gazella blacki
    • Gazella parasinensis
    • Gazella kueitensis
    • Gazella paragutturosa
  • Subgenus Gazella
    • Gazella janenschi
  • Subgenus Trachelocele
    • Gazella atlantica
    • Gazella tingitana
  • Subgenus Deprezia
  • Genus Nanger
    • Nanger vanhoepeni

References

  1. ^ The Twisted Mind Emporium: Weird Science: Fast Animals
  2. ^ "Antilopinae". http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Cetartiodactyla/Antilopinae.html. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  3. ^ Participants at 4th International Conservation Workshop for the Threatened Fauna of Arabi 2003. Gazella saudiya. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 07 October 2006.
  4. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2008. Gazella saudiya. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 December 2008.
  1. ^ The Twisted Mind Emporium: Weird Science: Fast Animals
  2. ^ "Antilopinae". http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Cetartiodactyla/Antilopinae.html. Retrieved 2008-07-01. 
  3. ^ Participants at 4th International Conservation Workshop for the Threatened Fauna of Arabi 2003. Gazella saudiya. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 07 October 2006.
  4. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2008. Gazella saudiya. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 December 2008.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Translations: Gazelle
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - gazelle

Nederlands (Dutch)
gazelle

Français (French)
n. - gazelle

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gazelle

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - γκαζέλα

Italiano (Italian)
gazzella

Português (Portuguese)
n. - gazela (f) (Zool.), antílope (m) (Zool.)

Русский (Russian)
газель

Español (Spanish)
n. - gacela

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - gasell (zool.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
瞪羚

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 瞪羚

한국어 (Korean)
n. - (동물의 일종) 영양

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ガゼル

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) غزال, ظبي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צבי, אנטילופה‬

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Gazelle".  Read more
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