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:''For the GP2 Series racing team, see Addax Team.'' The addax (''Addax nasomaculatus''), also known as the white antelope and the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope of the genus ''Addax'', that lives in the Sahara desert. It was first described by Henri de Blainville in 1816. As suggested by its alternative name, this pale antelope has long, twisted horns - typically in females and in males. Males stand from at the shoulder, with females at . They are sexually dimorphic, as the females are smaller than males. The colour of the coat depends on the season - in the winter, it is greyish-brown with white hindquarters and legs, and long, brown hair on the head, neck, and shoulders; in the summer, the coat turns almost completely white or sandy blonde. The addax mainly eats grasses and leaves of any available shrubs, leguminous herbs and bushes. These animals are well-adapted to exist in their desert habitat, as they can live without water for long periods of time. Addax form herds of five to 20 members, consisting of both males and females. They are led by the oldest female. Due to its slow movements, the antelope is an easy target for its predators: lions, humans, African hunting dogs, cheetahs and leopards. Breeding season is at its peak during winter and early spring. The natural habitat of the addax are arid regions, semideserts and sandy and stony deserts. The addax is a critically endangered species of antelope, as classified by the IUCN. Although extremely rare in its native habitat due to unregulated hunting, it is quite common in captivity. The addax was once abundant in North Africa, native to Chad, Mauritania and Niger. It is extinct in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Western Sahara. It has been reintroduced in Morocco and Tunisia. ==Taxonomy and naming== The scientific name of the addax is ''Addax nasomaculatus''. This antelope was first described by French zoologist and anatomist Henri Blainville in 1816. It is placed in the monotypic genus ''Addax'' and family Bovidae.〔 Henri Blainville observed syntypes in Bullock's Pantherion and the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. English naturalist Richard Lydekker stated their type locality to be probably Senegambia, though he did not have anything to support the claim. Finally, from a discussion in 1898, it became more probable that British hunters or collectors obtained the addax from the part of Sahara in Tunisia.〔 The generic name ''Addax'' is thought to be obtained from an Arabic word meaning a wild animal with crooked horns.〔 It is also thought to have originated from a Latin word. The name was first used in 1693. The species name ''nasomaculatus'' comes from the Latin words ''nasus'' (or the prefix ''naso'') meaning nose, and ''macula'', spot or spotted, and the suffix –''atus'' refers to the spots and facial markings of the antelope. Bedouins use another name for the addax, the Arabic ''bakr'' (or ''bagr'') ''al wahsh'', which literally means the cow of the wild. The name can be used to refer to other ungulates, as well.〔 The other common names of addax are "white antelope" and "screwhorn antelope". 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「addax」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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