Blue wildebeest
The blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus), also called the common wildebeest, white-bearded wildebeest, white-bearded gnu or brindled gnu, is a large antelope and one of the two species of wildebeest.
Blue wildebeest | |
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C. t. albojubatus In the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania | |
Conservation status | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Genus: | Connochaetes |
Species: | C. taurinus
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Binomial name | |
Connochaetes taurinus (Burchell, 1823)
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Subspecies | |
C. t. albojubatus (Thomas, 1912) | |
Distribution of the subspecies: C. t. taurinus C. t. cooksoni C. t. johnstoni C. t. albojubatus C. t. mearnsi
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The blue wildebeest is known to have five subspecies. Young blue wildebeest are born tawny brown, and begin to have their adult coloration at the age of 2 months.
Both sexes have a pair of large curved horns. The blue wildebeest is a herbivore, feeding mainly on short grasses.
Blue Wildebeest Media
A skeleton photographed at the Museum of Veterinary Anatomy FMVZ USP, São Paulo, Brazil
Blue wildebeest at Etosha National Park
References
- ↑ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2016). "Connochaetes taurinus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T5229A163322525. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T5229A163322525.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.