addax

addax

(ăd`ăks), large, desert-dwelling antelope. It is a single species, Addax nasomaculatus. The addax is yellowish-white in color, has a brown mane and throat fringe, and may stand as high as 42 in. (106 cm) at the shoulder. Both sexes bear long, spiraling horns reaching up to 43 in. (109 cm) in length. The addax is native to N African deserts; its short, thick legs and broad hooves are adapted to traveling on sand. It is able to survive only on the water obtained from dew or from forage and can scent grasses newly sprouted by recent rain. Addax are typically found in pairs or in small herds. They have been extensively hunted, and, with much of their habitat destroyed, the species is now endangered. Addax are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

Addax

 

(Addax nasomaculatus), an artiodactyl of the family Bovidae. The male measures up to 2 m long, stands about 1 m high at the shoulder, and weighs up to 120 kg. The female is somewhat smaller. Both the male and the female have long (up to 90 cm) lyre-shaped horns with transverse rings. The legs are long, with widely splayed hooves—an adaptation for traveling on sand. The coloration is grayish brown in the winter and lighter in the summer. The addax has a white stripe across the nose and a tuft of black hairs on the forehead. It is distributed in the Sahara, but its numbers are sharply decreasing owing to intensive hunting (the flesh and hide are used).