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Connochaetes taurinus Burchell, 1823

Order: Artiodactyla > Family: Bovidae > Genus: Connochaetes > Species: Connochaetes taurinus Burchell, 1823

Common Name: Common Wildebeest [English]

Type Description

Burchell, W. J. 1822-1824 [1822-23]. Travels in the interior of Southern Africa. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, London, 2 volumes [vol, 2 published in 1823, dated 1824].

Type Locality

Apparently "Kosi Fountain", but lectotype came from South Africe, North West Prov., Vryburg Dist., "Chue Spring, Maadji Mtn [Klein Heuningvlei]"; see Grubb (1999).

Measurements

Head and body: 1940-2090 mm
Tail length: 450-560 mm
Weight: 118-270 kg

Description

The wildebeest is a familiar animal found in short grasslands and famous for migrating.

Key References

1. Kingdon, J. 1989. East African mammals: An atlas of evolution in Africa. (Large Mammals). University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 3D:524-537.
2. Kingdon, J. 1997. The Kingdon field guide to African mammals, AP Natural World Academic Press, Harcourt Brace & Company, San Diego, p. 431-434.
3. Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World. Sixth ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2:1135, 1184-1186.