Damaliscus tiang, Heuglin, 1863

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-779 : 659

157.

Tiang

Damaliscus tiang

French: Tiang / German: Tiang / Spanish: Tiang

Taxonomy. Damalis tiang Heuglin, 1863 ,

Sobat Valley, Sudan.

Formerly in the synonymy of D. korrigum . Monotypic.

Distribution. Sudan, E of the Nile, extending into W Ethiopia.

Descriptive notes. Few measurements available. Shoulder height 127 cm; weight 122 kg. Color reddish-bay suffused with a reddish-purple bloom. Legs bright cinnamon. Shoulder and haunch patches are ash-gray, with reddish tinge. Facial blaze is blackish-gray, with reddish tinge. In skull and horn characters, the Tiang is slightly more extreme than the Korrigum ( D. korrigum ), with somewhat more sexual dimorphism. The sexual size difference in the horns is greater in the Tiang than in other taxa.

Habitat. Like other large species of Damaliscus , the Tiang lives in edaphic grasslands.

Food and Feeding. A grazer; in the Dinder National Park, Sudan, 98% of the dry season diet is grass, only 2% being forbs, with no shrub component. The favored grass species are Echinochloa, which are also favored by the sympatric Lake Chad Buffalo ( Syncerus brachyceros ), Defassa Waterbuck ( Kobus defassa ), and reedbucks ( Redunca sp.), although there is much less overlap with the Roan Antelope ( Hippotragus equinus ) or the Sudan Oribi (OQurebia montana ).

Breeding. Seasonal; calving occurs at the end of the dry season, about the end of March. Gestation is about seven months.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Tiang migrate between arid and savanna zones. Annual migrations were recorded in March-April from Mongalla north toward the Sobat River.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as D. lunatus tiang). In 2007, as many as 160,000 Tiang were reported in southern Sudan, east of the White Nile, centered on Boma National Park.

Bibliography. Brocklehurst (1931), Hashim (1987).

Figures

152. Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus), 153. Blesbok (Damaliscus phillipsi), 154. Western Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus), 155. Bangweulu Tsessebe (Damaliscus superstes), 156. Korrigum (Damaliscus korrigum), 157. Tiang (Damaliscus tiang), 158. Uganda Top 1 (Damaliscus ugandae), 159. Ruaha Topt (Damaliscus eurus), 160. Serengeti Topi (Damaliscus jimela), 161. Coastal Topt (Damaliscus topr)

Distribution. Sudan , E of the Nile, extending into W Ethiopia .