Mongalla gazelle
| Mongalla gazelle | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Antilopinae |
| Genus: | Eudorcas |
| Species: | E. albonotata |
| Binomial name | |
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Eudorcas albonotata (W. Rothschild, 1903) |
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| Range of the Mongalla gazelle | |
The Mongalla gazelle (Eudorcas albonotata) is a species of gazelle found in the floodplain and savanna of South Sudan. It was first described by British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1903. The taxonomic status of the Mongalla gazelle is widely disputed. While some authorities consider it a full-fledged monotypic species in the genus Eudorcas, it is often considered a subspecies of Thomson's gazelle, while other authorities regard it as subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle.
The Mongalla gazelle is a medium-sized antelope. The coat is brown, while the forehead, underbelly and buttocks are completely white. There is a bright wide stripe on its lateral side, beneath which is another rufous one. Horns are present on both sexes, but the length of horns of males is double of that of females.
This gazelle inhabits flood plains and flat savanna grasslands in South Sudan, east of the Nile. Its range, however, does not reach the borders of Kenya and Uganda. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has categorised the Mongalla gazelle as Least Concern. No major threats to the survival of this gazelle stand out at present.
The scientific name of the Mongalla gazelle is Eudorcas albonotata. It was first described by British zoologist Walter Rothschild in 1903. There is little consensus on the taxonomic status of the Mongalla gazelle. This monotypic species is often considered a subspecies of Thomson's gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii) by many authors, such as Alan W. Gentry of the Natural History Museum, London. Moreover, the Thomson's gazelle has been considered to be conspecific with the red-fronted gazelle (E. rufifrons) by authors like Colin Groves. As such, the Mongalla gazelle is often listed as a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle. On the other hand, in their 2011 publication Ungulate Taxonomy, Grubb and Groves consider the gazelle as a full-fledged species in the genus Eudorcas.
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