Editing Wildebeest (section)

== Classification ==
=== Taxonomy and evolution ===
The genus name ''Connochaetes'' derives from the [[Ancient Greek]] words {{lang|grc|κόννος}}, {{transliteration|grc|kónnos}} '[[beard]]',<ref>{{LSJ|ko/nnos|κόννος|ref}}.</ref> and [[:wikt:χαίτη|χαίτη]], {{transliteration|grc|khaítē}} 'flowing hair, [[lion#Mane|mane]]'.<ref>{{LSJ|xai/th|χαίτη|shortref}}.</ref><ref name=Benirschke>{{cite web |url=http://placentation.ucsd.edu/gnu.html |title=Wildebeest, Gnu |last=Benirschke |first=Kurt |year=2002 |work=Comparative Placentation |publisher=University of California San Diego |access-date=25 March 2014}}</ref> It is placed under the family Bovidae and subfamily [[Alcelaphinae]], where its closest relatives are the hartebeest (''[[Alcelaphus]]'' spp.), the [[hirola]] (''Beatragus hunteri''), and species in the genus ''[[Damaliscus]]'', such as the [[topi]], the [[Common tsessebe|tsessebe]], the [[blesbok]] and the [[bontebok]].<ref name=msw3/> The name ''Connochaetes'' was given by German [[zoology|zoologist]] [[Hinrich Lichtenstein]] in 1812.<ref name=msw3/><ref name=groves>{{cite book|last=Groves|first=C.|title=Ungulate Taxonomy |year=2011 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|location=Baltimore, Maryland|isbn=978-1-4214-0093-8|author2=Grubb, P.}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, one species of the wildebeest, ''C. albojubatus'', was identified in eastern Africa. In 1914, two separate races of the wildebeest were introduced, namely ''Gorgon a. albojubatus'' ("Athi white-bearded wildebeest") and ''G. a. mearnsi'' ("Loita white-bearded wildebeest"). However, in 1939, the two were once again merged into a single race, ''Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus''. In the mid-20th century, two separate forms were recognised, ''Gorgon taurinus hecki'' and ''G. t. albojubatus''.<ref name=talbot/> Finally, two distinct types of wildebeest – the blue and black wildebeest – were identified. The blue wildebeest was at first placed under a separate genus, ''Gorgon'',<ref name=nowak/><ref name=corbet>{{cite journal|last1=Corbet|first1=S. W.|last2=Robinson |first2= T. J.|title=Genetic divergence in South African Wildebeest: comparative cytogenetics and analysis of mitochondrial DNA|journal=The Journal of Heredity|date=November–December 1991 |volume=82 |issue=6 |pages=447–52 |pmid=1795096 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a111126}}</ref> while the black wildebeest belonged to the genus ''Connochaetes''. Today, they are united in the single genus ''Connochaetes'', with the black wildebeest being named (''C. gnou'') and the blue wildebeest (''C. taurinus'').<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3|id=14200508|page=676}}</ref>

According to a [[mitochondrial DNA]] analysis, the black wildebeest are estimated to have diverged from the main lineage during the [[Middle Pleistocene]] and became a distinct species around a million years ago.<ref name=bassi>{{cite book |last=Bassi |first=J. |title=Pilot in the Wild: Flights of Conservation and Survival |year=2013 |publisher=Jacana Media |isbn=978-1-4314-0871-9 |pages=116–118}}</ref> A divergence rate around 2% has been calculated.<ref name=corbet/> The split does not seem to have been driven by [[Competition (biology)|competition]] for resources, but instead because each species adopted a different [[ecological niche]] and occupied a different [[trophic level]].<ref name=Codron>{{cite journal |author1=Codron, Daryl |author2=Brink, James S. |year=2007 |title=Trophic ecology of two savanna grazers, blue wildebeest ''Connochaetes taurinus'' and black wildebeest ''Connochaetes gnou'' |journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research |volume=53 |issue=2 |pages=90–99 |doi=10.1007/s10344-006-0070-2 |s2cid=26717246 |url=http://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/25325/2/D_Codron.pdf |access-date=20 December 2018 |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807072425/https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/25325/2/D_Codron.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=December 2021}}

Blue wildebeest fossils dating back some 2.5 million years ago are common and widespread. They have been found in the fossil-bearing caves at the [[Cradle of Humankind]] north of [[Johannesburg]]. Elsewhere in South Africa, they are plentiful at such sites as [[Saldanha Bay|Elandsfontein]], [[Cornelia, Free State|Cornelia]], and [[Florisbad]].<ref name=hb>{{cite book|last=B.|first=Hilton-Barber|title=Field Guide to the Cradle of Humankind : Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai & Environs World Heritage Site|year=2004 |publisher=Struik|location=Cape Town|isbn=978-177-0070-653 |pages=162–163 |edition=2nd |author2=Berger, L. R.}}</ref> The earliest fossils of the black wildebeest were found in sedimentary rock in Cornelia in the [[Free State (province)|Free State]] and dated back about 800,000 years.<ref name=Codron/> Today, five subspecies of the blue wildebeest are recognised, while the black wildebeest has no named subspecies.<ref name=ackermann>{{cite journal|last=Ackermann|first=Rebecca|author2=James S. Brink |author3=Savvas Vrahimis |author4=Bonita de Klerk |title=Hybrid Wildebeest (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) Provide Further Evidence For Shared Signatures of Admixture in Mammalian Crania|journal=South African Journal of Science|year=2010 |volume=106 |issue=11/12 |pages=90–94 |doi=10.4102/sajs.v106i11/12.423|doi-access=free |hdl=11427/27315 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/animal/gnu|title=gnu {{!}} mammal|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-08-23|language=en}}</ref>

===Genetics and hybrids===
The diploid number of [[chromosome]]s in the wildebeest is 58.<ref name=skinner>{{cite book|last=Skinner|first=J. D.|title=The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion|year=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-84418-5|pages=645–8|edition=3rd|author2=Chimimba, C. T.}}</ref> Chromosomes were studied in a male and a female wildebeest. In the female, all except a pair of very large [[submetacentric]] chromosomes were found to be [[acrocentric]]. [[Metaphase]]s were studied in the male's chromosomes, and very large submetacentric chromosomes were found there, as well, similar to those in the female both in size and morphology. Other chromosomes were acrocentric. The [[X chromosome]] is a large acrocentric and the [[Y chromosome]] a minute one.<ref name=groves/><ref name=wallace>{{cite journal|last=Wallace|first=C.|title=Chromosome analysis in the Kruger National Park: The chromosomes of the blue wildebeest ''Connochaetes taurinus''|journal=Koedoe|year=1978|volume=21|issue=1|pages=195–6|doi=10.4102/koedoe.v21i1.974|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The two species of the wildebeest are known to [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridise]]. Male black wildebeest have been reported to mate with female blue wildebeest and vice versa.<ref name=hybrid1>{{cite journal|last=Grobler|first=J. P.|author2=Rushworth, I. |author3=Brink, J. S. |author4=Bloomer, P. |author5=Kotze, A. |author6=Reilly, B. |author7= Vrahimis, S. |title=Management of hybridization in an endemic species: decision making in the face of imperfect information in the case of the black wildebeest—''Connochaetes gnou''|journal=European Journal of Wildlife Research|date=5 August 2011|volume=57|issue=5|pages=997–1006|doi=10.1007/s10344-011-0567-1|issn=1439-0574|hdl=2263/19462|s2cid=23964988|hdl-access=free}}</ref> The differences in social behaviour and habitats have historically prevented interspecific hybridisation between the species, but hybridisation may occur when they are both confined within the same area. The resulting offspring are usually fertile. A study of these hybrid animals at [[Spioenkop Dam Nature Reserve]] in South Africa revealed that many had disadvantageous abnormalities relating to their teeth, horns, and the [[wormian bones]] in the skull.<ref name=hybrid2>{{cite journal|last=Ackermann|first=R. R.|author2=Brink, J. S. |author3=Vrahimis, S. |author4= De Klerk, B. |title=Hybrid wildebeest (Artiodactyla: Bovidae) provide further evidence for shared signatures of admixture in mammalian crania|journal=South African Journal of Science|date=29 October 2010 |volume=106 |issue=11/12 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.4102/sajs.v106i11/12.423|doi-access=free |hdl=11427/27315 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Another study reported an increase in the size of the hybrid as compared to either of its parents. In some animals, the [[tympanic part of the temporal bone]] is highly deformed, and in others, the [[Radius (bone)|radius]] and [[ulna]] are fused.<ref name=hybrid3>{{citation |last=De Klerk|first=B.|title=An osteological documentation of hybrid wildebeest and its bearing on black wildebeest (''Connochaetes gnou'') evolution (Doctoral dissertation)|year=2008}}</ref>

===Characteristics of the species===
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Both species of wildebeest are even-toed, horned, greyish-brown ungulates resembling cattle. Males are larger than females and both have heavy forequarters compared to their hindquarters. They have broad muzzles, Roman noses, and shaggy manes and tails.<ref name=ulfstrand /> The most striking morphological differences between the black and blue wildebeest are the orientation and curvature of their horns and the colour of their coats. The blue wildebeest is the bigger of the two species. In males, blue wildebeest stand {{convert|150|cm|abbr=on}} tall at the shoulder and weigh around {{convert|250|kg|abbr=on}}, while the black wildebeest stands {{convert|111|–|120|cm|abbr=on}} tall<ref>{{cite web|last=Lundrigan|first=Barbara|title=Connochaetes gnou |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Connochaetes_gnou.html |work=Animal Diversity Web|access-date=25 March 2014}}</ref> and weighs about {{convert|180|kg|abbr=on}}. In females, blue wildebeest have a shoulder height of {{convert|135|cm|abbr=on}} and weigh {{convert|180|kg|abbr=on}} while black wildebeest females stand {{convert|108|cm|abbr=on}} at the shoulder and weigh {{convert|155|kg|abbr=on}}. The horns of blue wildebeest protrude to the side, then curve downwards before curving up back towards the skull, while the horns of the black wildebeest curve forward then downward before curving upwards at the tips. Blue wildebeest tend to be a dark grey colour with stripes, but may have a bluish sheen. The black wildebeest has brown-coloured hair, with a mane that ranges in colour from cream to black, and a cream-coloured tail. The blue wildebeest lives in a wide variety of habitats, including woodlands and grasslands, while the black wildebeest tends to reside exclusively in open grassland areas.<ref name=ackermann /> In some areas, the blue wildebeest migrates over long distances in the winter, whereas the black wildebeest does not.<ref name=hoffman>{{cite journal|last1=Hoffman|first1=Louw|title=Effect of Season and Gender on the Physical and Chemical Composition of Black Wildebeest (''Connochaetus gnou'') Meat|journal=South African Journal of Wildlife Research|year=2009|volume=39|issue=2 |pages=170–174 |doi=10.3957/056.039.0208 |last2=Schalkwyk |first2=Sunet van |last3=Muller|first3=Nina|s2cid=83957360}}</ref> The milk of the black wildebeest contains a higher protein, lower fat, and lower lactose content than the milk of the blue wildebeest.<ref name=Osthoff>{{cite journal|last=Osthoff|first=G.|author2=A. Hugo |author3=M. de Wit |title=Comparison of the Milk Composition of Free-ranging Blesbok, Black Wildebeest and Blue Wildebeest of the Subfamily Alcelaphinae (family: Bovidae)|journal=Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B|year=2009|volume=154|issue=1|pages=48–54|doi=10.1016/j.cbpb.2009.04.015|pmid=19426824}}</ref> Wildebeest can live more than 40 years, though their average lifespan is around 20 years.<ref name="National geographic">{{cite web|title= Wildebeest |url= http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wildebeest/ |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100203072620/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/wildebeest |url-status= dead |archive-date= 3 February 2010 | publisher=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |access-date=25 March 2014|date= 2010-11-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/wildebeest |title=Wildebeest / African Wildlife Foundation |language=English |author=African Wildlife Foundation |publisher=African Wildlife Foundation |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204213206/https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/wildebeest |archivedate=2023-02-04 |accessdate=2023-02-04}}</ref>