Boselaphini

Boselaphini is a tribe of antelopes belonging to the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. It contains only two extant genera.

Boselaphini
Nilgai
Four-horned antelope
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Tribe: Boselaphini
Knottnerus-Meyer, 1907
Genera

and see text.

Description

The Boselaphini or four-horned antelope tribe are the last survivors of a form very similar to that of the ancestors of the entire subfamily. The oldest fossil members of the tribe, such as Eotragus, date to the Miocene 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.[1]

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, and tend to avoid open plains. The nilgai has been introduced into southern Texas where a population of a little under 15,000 animals provides some long-term insurance for its survival.

Genera

Extant Species
ImageGenusSpecies
Boselaphus Blainville, 1816
  • nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus)
Tetracerus Leach, 1825

Phylogeny

The following are the genera classified under the tribe. Genera marked with † are extinct.[2]

Tribe Boselaphini

References
  1. Kostopoulos, D.S. (2005). "The Bovidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Miocene of Akkaşdaği, Turkey" (PDF). Geodiversitas. 27 (4): 747–791. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-02.
  2. Haaramo, M. "Mikko's Phylogency Archive (Boselaphini)". Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  3. Leslie, D.M. & Sharma K. (2009). "Tetracerus quadricornis (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)". Mammalian Species. 843: 1–11. doi:10.1644/843.1.
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