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The African subfamily Reduncinae is a group of medium-
to large-sized grazers, most of which have strong ties to water. There are
three distinct genera, each of which are easily distinguishable and specialized
for different habitats. Geographical separation has lead to the evolution
of three North-South species-pairs (kob and puku, bohor and southern reedbuck,
and Nile lechwe and lechwe), with sister species fulfilling the same ecological
roles in different regions.
Although currently restricted to Africa, reduncine antelope first appear in the fossil record of Eurasia 7.4 million years ago; fossils from African deposits are known from around 6.6 million years ago. There are two tribes within this subfamily:
The rhebok, Pelea capreolus, is an evolutionarily enigmatic species and is sometimes placed in a separate subfamily, Peleinae - only recently has this species been allied with the reedbucks and waterbucks. The temperate montane habitat of the rhebok has lead to morphological convergence with other ungulate groups from similar niches, notably sheep and goats (Caprini). All species within this subfamily have long hair; the largest species (Kobus) are shaggy and distinctly oily, while the coats of smaller species (Redunca, Pelea) tend to resemble fleece. Preorbital glands are absent in all species except for Kobus kob. Within this subfamily, horns are present in males only. In the tribe Reduncini, the horns curl forward at the tips, while they are needle-like and straight in the rhebok. In all species, the horns have basal annulations. |
(From Hernandez-Fernandez and Vrba, 2005)
| Pelea capreolus |
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