Lesser Kudu - Taxonomy and Evolution

Taxonomy and Evolution

The lesser kudu is the most primitive of all the spiral-horned antelopes. Its evolutionary line diverged sometime in the late Miocene, possibly as much as 10 million years ago. There is some evidence of an early hybridization between the proto-lesser kudu and the proto-nyala, but these lines have been separate for the majority of the evolutionary history.

The whole family tree for Tragelaphus (senso lato) has undergone a revision, with the lesser kudu being the most basal member of the tribe. It has long been established that the two species of eland (T. oryx and T. derbianus) are considered to be a separate genus (Taurotragus). In 1912, the genus Ammelaphus was established for just the Lesser Kudu by Edmund Heller, the type species being A. strepsiceros. As a genus, Ammelaphus had fallen out of favor, but was recently raised to a genus level by Peter Grubb and Colin Groves in 2011. Using the definition of a genus as being an evolutionary line that has remained separate since the end of the Miocene (5.8 million years ago), the lesser kudu qualifies as its own genus. But Tragelaphus is the genus the lesser kudu is generally thought to be of.

Grubb and Groves further state that Ammelaphus has two recognizable species, the northern (A. imberbis) and southern (A. australis). Prior to their level as a full species, both A. i. imberbis and A. i. australis were recognized as valid subspecies of the lesser kudu. Further genetic investigation will be needed to determine whether or not this split reflects reality.

• A. i. imberbis : Found in Ethiopia and Somalia.
• A. i. australis : Found in Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and southern Somalia.