Kobus Smith, 1840

Rduch, Vera, 2020, Kobus vardonii (Artiodactyla: Bovidae), Mammalian Species 52 (994), pp. 86-104 : 86-87

Kobus Smith, 1840

Antilope: Erxleben, 1777:293 . Part, not Antelope, Pallas 1766.

Cerophorus: de Blainville, 1816:74 . Part, no type species selected.

Gazella: de Blainville, 1816:75 . Part, no type species selected, proposed as subgenus of Cerophorus de Blainville, 1816 .

Cervus: Zoological Society of London, 1832:5 . Not Cervus Linnaeus, 1758 .

Antilope: Ogilby, 1833:47 . Part, not Antelope Pallas, 1766.

Aigoceros Smith, 1834:186 . No type species selected.

Aigocerus Harries, 1838:387 . Incorrect subsequent spelling of Aigoceros Smith, 1834 .

Kobus Smith, 1840 : Plates 38 and 39 and associated text. Type species Aigoceros ellipsiprymnus ( Ogilby, 1833) , by original designation.

Redunca: Rüppell, 1842:182 . Not Redunca Smith, 1827 .

Kolus Gray, 1843:159 . Incorrect subsequent spelling of Kobus Smith, 1840 .

Cervicapra: Sundevall, 1844:195 . Not Cervicapra, de Blainville, 1816:75 .

Adenota Gray, 1847:146 . Type species Adenota Kob ( Erxleben, 1777) , by monotypy.

Heleotragus Kirk, 1864:657 . Probably an incorrect subsequent spelling of Eleotragus, Gray, 1843:165 . Part, not Eleotragus, Gray, 1843 . No type species selected; said to include H. arundinceus , H. vardonii , H. lechè , and H. ellipsiprymnus .

Hydrotragus Fitzinger, 1866:596 . Type species Adenota Leché ( Gray, 1850) , by original designation.

Pseudokobus Fitzinger, 1869:173 . Type species Antilope forfex (C.H. Smith, 1827) , by monotypy.

Onotragus Gray, 1872:17 . No type species selected; said to include O. lechèe and O. Vardonii .

Cobus Buckley, 1876:293 . Incorrect subsequent spelling of

Kobus Smith, 1840 Eleotragus: Huet, 1887:83 . Part, not Eleotragus Gray, 1843 . Robus Zittel, 1893:417 . Incorrect subsequent spelling of Kobus

Smith, 1840. Onototragus Heller, 1913:12 . Incorrect subsequent spelling of

Onotragus Gray, 1872 .

CONTEXT AND CONTENT. Order Artiodactyla , suborder Ruminantia , infraorder Pecora , family Bovidae , subfamily Antilopinae , tribe Reduncini . In 2005, five species were recognized: Kobus ellipsiprymnus , K. kob , K. leche , K. megaceros , and K. vardonii ( Grubb 2005) . In the same year K. anselli was revealed as a new species ( Cotterill 2005). Currently, there are 13 species recognized in Kobus with K. robertsi apparently being extinct (Groves and Grubb 2011); all are found in Africa. The genus contains three species groups in two clades: the K. leche group as the sister clade to the K. kob group and the K. ellipsiprymnus group. The K. leche group contains K. megaceros as a sister taxon to the lechwes, that is, K. leche , K. anselli , K. kafuensis , K. smithemani , and K. robertsi (extinct). The two waterbucks, K. ellipsiprymnus and K. defassa , are sister to the K. kob group. The latter contains five species: K. kob , K. loderi , K. thomasi , K. leucotis (all formerly seen as subspecies of K. kob ), and K. vardonii (Birungi and Arctander 2001; Groves and Grubb 2011).

All literature until 2011 and most of the literature afterwards still refer to the traditional nomenclature. Post hoc assignment of the taxa described or researched in published studies to the new names is difficult. Avoiding any confusion was a major challenge for this account, which will refer to the established names except in this section and the “Diagnosis” section. The following key of Kobus was established based on Ansell (1972), updated with the species information from Groves and Grubb (2011) and Huffmann (2011):

1. Shoulder height 120–136 cm; no inguinal pouches; either a distinct white ring or patch on rump ........................... 2 Shoulder height 77–112 cm; inguinal pouches present (although sometimes rudimentary); no ring or patch on rump. 3 2. Kobus ellipsiprymnus group:

Overall pelage color gray-brown; conspicuous white ring on rump that runs above base of tail and circles buttocks .................................................................... K. ellipsiprymnus Overall pelage color reddish-gray (generally redder than K. ellipsiprymnus ); rump is entirely white; rump patch does not extend above base of tail ................................. K. defassa 3. Facial glands absent; coat rough ......................................... 4 Facial glands present, though only moderately developed; coat shorter and smoother..................................................... 8 4. Kobus leche group:

Females ocher-yellow; adult males usually have a large white patch that sits saddle-like on the shoulders; horns diverge and curve backward, bend upward and inward to the tips; pelage relatively long and shaggy in both sexes, especially on the sides and underside of the jaw. Distributed in south Sudan and west Ethiopia............................................. K. megaceros Females reddish-brown or rufous; adult males without white patch on withers; horns, without a pronounced backward and downward curve. Distributed in the southern savannas (east Angola, south DR Congo, east Namibia, north Botswana, and Zambia).......................................................................... 5 5. Adult males, entire body color may be brownish-black typically with rufous patches on forehead and upper neck, rump, and upper hindlegs; females generally rufous. Endemic to the Bangweulu Basin in Zambia. ......................... K. smithemani Both sexes with a reddish-brown body color ......................6 6. Horn length range 62–83 cm (longer than for any other species of the K. leche group), the foreleg markings extend upward, forming a dark patch on the shoulders and extending along the lower margins of the white stripe of the throat. Endemic to the Kafue Flats floodplain of the Kafue River (south Zambia) ................................................... K. kafuensis Horn length <67 cm; black foreleg markings not forming a dark patch on the shoulders. Distributed in south DR Congo, east Angola, east Namibia, north Botswana, and west Zambia..................................................................................7 7. White stripe on the underside of the neck generally terminates before reaching the upper one-third of the neck. Endemic to the Upemba Swamps in Katanga, south DR Congo............... ................................................................................. K. anselli White stripe runs from the chest to chin on the underside of the neck; markings of the leg do not extend on the shoulders. Distributed in east Angola, east Namibia, north Botswana, and west Zambia........................................................ K. leche 8. Kobus kob group:

Forelegs without black stripe; premaxilla not in contact with nasal. Distributed in southwest Tanzania, southeast DR Congo, Zambia, Malawi, Angola, east Namibia, and northeast Botswana.............................................. K. vardonii Forelegs with anterior black stripe; premaxilla in contact with nasal. Distributed from Senegal to Sudan, west Ethiopia, far east DR Congo, and Uganda............................................... 9 9. Extreme sexual dimorphism: mature males are rich black, juxtaposing with the white underside; face is prominently marked with white circles around each ear and eye; females golden-brown to reddish; back of the ears is completely white in both sexes .............................................. K. leucotis No sexual dimorphism in pelage. Overall body color brown (golden-brown, orange, reddish-brown); back of ears not (entirely) white ........................................................................ 10 10. Well-defined arc of white present at the medial corner of each eye, becoming narrower and more buff in color as it circles the eye dorsally..................................................... K. thomasi Markings around the eye much smaller and inconspicuous ............................................................................................ 11 11. Black stripe on front of entire length of front legs ....... K. kob Black stripe only on front of lower front legs ........ K. loderi