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The blue wildebeest (''Connochaetes taurinus''), also called the common wildebeest, white-bearded wildebeest or brindled gnu, is a large antelope and one of the two species of wildebeest. It is placed in the genus ''Connochaetes'' and family Bovidae and has a close taxonomic relationship with the black wildebeest. The blue wildebeest is known to have five subspecies. This broad-shouldered antelope has a muscular, front-heavy appearance, with a distinctive robust muzzle. Young blue wildebeest are born tawny brown, and begin to take on their adult colouration at the age of two months. The adults' hues range from a deep slate or bluish gray to light gray or even grayish-brown. Both sexes possess a pair of large curved horns. The blue wildebeest is a herbivore, feeding primarily on the short grasses. It forms herds which move about in loose aggregations, the animals being fast runners and extremely wary. The mating season begins at the end of the rainy season and a single calf is usually born after a gestational period of about eight and a half months. The calf remains with its mother for eight months, after which time it joins a juvenile herd. Blue wildebeest are found in short grass plains bordering bush-covered acacia savannas in southern and eastern Africa, thriving in areas that are neither too wet nor too arid. Each year, some East African populations of blue wildebeest take part in a long-distance migration, seemingly timed to coincide with local patterns of rainfall and grass growth. The blue wildebeest is native to Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Today it is extinct in Malawi, but has been successfully reintroduced in Namibia. The southern limit of the blue wildebeest range is the Orange River, while the western limit is bounded by Lake Victoria and Mt Kenya. The blue wildebeest is widespread and is being introduced into private game farms, reserves and conservancies. For this reason, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) rates the blue wildebeest as being of Least Concern. The population has been estimated to be around one and a half million and the population trend is stable. ==Taxonomy and naming== The blue wildebeest was first described by English naturalist William John Burchell in 1823 and he gave it the scientific name ''Connochaetes taurinus''. It shares the genus ''Connochaetes'' with the black wildebeest (''C. gnou''), and is placed in the family Bovidae, ruminant animals with cloven hooves.〔 The generic name ''Connochaetes'' derives from the Greek words κόννος, kónnos, "beard", and χαίτη, khaítē, "flowing hair", "mane". The specific name ''taurinus'' originates from the Greek word ''tauros'', which means a bull or bullock.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taurus )〕 The common name "blue wildebeest" refers to the conspicuous, silvery-blue sheen of the coat,〔 while the alternative name "gnu" originates from the name for these animals used by the Khokloi people, a native pastoralist tribe of southwestern Africa.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnu )〕 Though the blue and black wildebeest are currently classified in the same genus, the former was previously placed in a separate genus, ''Gorgon''. In a study of the mitotic chromosomes and mtDNA which was undertaken to understand more of the evolutionary relationships between the two species, it was found that the two had a close phylogenetic relationship and had diverged about a million years ago. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blue wildebeest」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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