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The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized brown and white antelope-gazelle of southwestern Africa. It is extremely fast and can reach speeds of and can leap 4 m〔(rollinghillswildlife/animals/springbok )〕 (13 feet) through the air. The common name "springbok" comes from the Afrikaans and Dutch words ''spring'' = jump and ''bok'' = male antelope or goat. The specific epithet ''marsupialis'' (Latin: ''marsupium'', "pocket") derives from a pocket-like skin flap which extends along the middle of the back from the tail onwards. When the male springbok is showing off his strength to attract a mate, or to ward off predators, he starts off in a stiff-legged trot, jumping up into the air with an arched back every few paces and lifting the flap along his back. Lifting the flap causes the long white hairs under the tail to stand up in a conspicuous fan shape, which in turn emits a strong scent of sweat. This ritual is known as stotting or pronking from the Afrikaans meaning to boast or show off. == Appearance == Springboks are slender, long-necked antelopes, with a total length of , and horns present in both sexes.〔 Adults are between 〔(Zoo Hannover – Springbok )〕 tall at the shoulder, depending on weight and gender; they weigh between for the females and for the males. The tail is long.〔 Their colouring consists of a pattern of white, reddish/tan and dark brown. Their backs are tan-coloured and they are white beneath, with a dark brown stripe extending along each side from the shoulder to inside the thigh. The face is white in adults, with a dark patch on the forehead, and a stripe running from just above the eyes to the corner of the mouth. The hooves and horns are black, and the tail is white with a black tuft at the tip.〔 Rams are slightly larger than ewes, and have thick horns; the ewes tend to have skinnier legs and longer, more frail horns. The horns are, however, of similar shape in both sexes, with a hook-like tip that curves inwards, and a series of rings along their length. The average horn length for both genders is , with the record being a female with horns measuring . Springbok footprints are narrow and sharp, and are long. springbok are distinguished from gazelles in that they only have two premolar teeth in each side of each jaw, instead of three, and therefore a total of twenty eight teeth, rather than thirty. There are three variations in the color of springbok pelage.〔The Springbok. J. D. Skinner & G. N. Louw (1996)〕 In addition to the normal-coloured springboks there are also black and white morphs. Although born jet black, adult "black" springboks primarily have two shades of chocolate-brown and a white marking on the face. White springboks are predominantly white with a very light brown coloured side stripe. File:Normal Springbok.svg|Normal springbok File:Black Springbok.svg|Black springbok File:White Springbok.svg|White springbok 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「Springbok」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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