Saudi gazelle (Gazella saudiya) is not a subspecies of Dorcas gazelle

Abstract

Karyotypes of Saudi gazelle (2n = 47 female, 2n = 50/51 male) are presented for the first time. The three karyotypes shown here vary in the numbers of metacentric chromosomes, but the cause of this variation is not yet known. Although Saudi gazelle are often regarded as a subspecies of Dorcas gazelle, the chromosome numbers and karyotypes of Saudi gazelle are too different from Dorcas gazelle (2n = 30 female, 2n = 31 male) for them to be considered a subspecies. It is also unlikely that these species would interbreed. In view of the present findings, the taxonomic status of this highly endangered gazelle needs to be resolved as soon as possible.

Phylogenetic Relationships in the Bovid Subfamily Antilopinae Based on Mitochondrial DNA Sequences

“…Studies on G. saudiya (Rebholz et al, 1991) showed that this was not a subspecies of G. dorcas, as had been previously supposed (Groves, 1969(Groves, , 1985Groves and Harrison, 1967). The conservation implication of this is that G. saudiya should be managed as a distinct unit, separate from G. dorcas.…”

A phylogeographic framework for the conservation of Saharan and Arabian Dorcas gazelles (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)

“…The question of whether G. saudiya is a separate species as suggested by some authors (Rebholz et al 1991;Rebholz and Harley 1999) or just another form of Dorcas gazelles could not be resolved in detail. The private haplotypes found in this study are congruent with those detected by Hammond et al (2001).…”

“…In order to investigate this phenomenon in more detail, Dorcas gazelles from Libya and Egypt should be included in future studies. Rebholz et al (1991) proposed that Saudi gazelles might be more distantly related to Dorcas gazelles than previously assumed (see also Rebholz and Harley 1999), but their analysis was partly based on samples from captive breeding groups, and it remains doubtful whether those samples were truly Saudi gazelles (Hammond et al 2001). While probably extinct in the wild, presumed Saudi gazelles held in captivity appear to be the product of repeated hybridization with other gazelle taxa such as chinkara (G. bennetti) and Goitered gazelle (G. subgutturosa; Rebholz and Harley 1997;Hammond et al 2001).…”

“…On the Arabian Peninsula, representatives of this taxon were described as a separate species, the Saudi gazelle (G. saudiya). Gazella saudiya was thought to be isolated and distinct from African continental G. dorcas (Groves 1988;Rebholz et al 1991;Hammond et al 2001), but has most probably gone extinct (Thouless et al 1997;Habibi and Williamson 1997). With the exception of Israel and Ethiopia (Yom-Tov and Ilani 1987;Mallon and Kingswood 2001), population numbers of Dorcas gazelles are decreasing at an alarming pace, and the remaining populations are even more fragmented than only a few decades ago (UNEP/CMS 1998;Smith 1998Smith , 1999Mallon and Kingswood 2001;Lafontaine et al 2006).…”

Genetic variability in goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa: allozymes and karyotypes

“…On this basis, different authors grouped the approximately 50 described Gazella taxa into 12 to 16 species (Groves 1969, 1988, Lange 1971, Rostron 1972, Heptner et al 1989, Rebholz et al 1991, Thouless and Al Basri 1991, Karami and Groves 1992. The delimitation of several species remains controversial, and a new species, G. bilkis, has been described as recently as 1975 (Groves 1988).…”