Black-faced Impala

Black-faced Impala
A Black-faced Impala in Etosha National Park, Namibia
Adult female with young
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Aepycerotinae
Genus: Aepyceros
Species: A. melampus
Subspecies: A. m. petersi
Trinomial name
Aepyceros melampus petersi
Bocage, 1879

The Black-faced Impala (Aepyceros melampus petersi) is a subspecies of the impala native to Angola and Namibia. It is not hard to tell it apart from the common impala, being significantly larger and having a black facial marking. It is also found in different locations than the common impala. While the species as a whole is not endangered, this subspecies has come close to extinction. In 1968–1971, 310 individuals were transferred to Etosha National Park for better protection, and their number is steadily increasing. However, the current population is still less than 1000 and possible interbreeding with the common impala from nearby farms may be damaging to the gene pool. [2]

Gallery

References

  1. IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Aepyceros melampus ssp. melampus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
  2. Eline Deirdre Lorenzen, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2007 ARKive
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