ORYX

(genus Oryx), any of four large antelopes (family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla) living in herds on deserts and dry plains of Africa and Arabia. The beisa and gemsbok, subspecies of O. gazella, inhabit eastern and southern Africa, respectively. The scimitar oryx (O. dammah), once found throughout northern Africa, was restricted to the southern rim of the Sahara by the early 1980s. The Arabian, or white, oryx (O. leucoryx) once lived in the deserts of the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas and adjacent areas to the north; it had disappeared by the early 1970s but was reintroduced into Oman in 1982. Oryxes are stocky animals 102120 cm (4047 inches) tall at the shoulder. They have a mane and a tufted tail and have dark patches on the face and forehead, a dark streak on either side of the eye, and dark markings (varying with the species) on the body and legs. The coat is grayish brown in the beisa and gemsbok, whitish in the scimitar-horned oryx, and white in the Arabian oryx. Horns, present in both sexes, are long, sharp-tipped, and straight or curved. The Arabian and scimitar oryxes were ruthlessly hunted and are listed as endangered in the Red Data Book. They have been bred in various zoos. The beisa is sometimes classified as O. beisa, the scimitar-horned oryx as O. tao.