Springbok+-+Extinct

Modern Animal: Springbok Future Animal: Sneeubok
= Extinct Animal: Bluebuck =



The Hippotragus Leucophaeus, otherwise known as the Bluebuck is an extinct species of Antelope, that could possibly be an ancestor to the Springbok. The Bluebuck was the first large African mammal to disappear in historic times. The Hippotragus Leucophaeus was located in the Southwestern coastal regions in the South African savannahs, and became extinct around 200 years ago.

Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Hippotraginae Genus: Hippotragus Species: H. leucophaeus

 **Habitat**  The bluebuck inhabited the southwestern coastal regions of the savannahs in the cape province of South Africa. They were found in large numbers shortly after the most recent ice age 10,000 years ago because the grassy plains provided the perfect habitat to ensure their survival. The species was limited to a particular area in the southwestern Cape Province (Western Province), east of the Hottentots Holland Mountains. They were found more specifically between the towns of Swellendam, bredasdorp and Caledon, and have also been reported in the Free State province. The species was most abundant around 10,000 years ago during the Holocene Epoch.

Although the Bluebuck is an extinct ancestor of the Springbok, it is not as well adapted to desert life. The habitat of the Bluebuck was the savannah plains of the Southern Cape. These consisted of grasslands with open areas of long grass, hillside shrub and extensive marshes, and also found higher above sea level. Unlike the Springbok, the Bluebuck had to drink water every day to survive and avoided areas with short grass and desert conditions. The climate of the Western province is similar to a Mediterranean climate, with wet, cool winters and dry, hot summers. The Karoo was a common habitat of the two animals, with a semi-dry environment as it was not an extreme desert environment not allowing the Bluebuck to meet basic requirements such as water, but this climate was warmer than most of the other areas of the Western Province. The temperature range is approximately 7-30° with an average amount of precipitation.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">As with all other animals, the habitat of the Bluebuck was directly linked with it’s diet. The Bluebuck was similar to the Springbok in the fact that it changed its feeding patterns depending on the season, grazing in the wet season and browsing in the dry. When grazing, the Bluebuck would usually feed on perennial tuft grasses, spear grass, buffalo grass, love grass and red grass. This particular species of Antelope was not attracted to the fresh, most moist grass, but instead had to drink water daily in order to stay hydrated.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The former habitat of the Bluebuck was common to many animals in Africa, including a few major predators. Some of these predators include spotted hyenas, leopards, [|wild dogs], [|lions] and a few others. Althoughthere many predators, it was mainly the calves, the old and the weak that were vulnerable to attack from the predators as they could not always keep up with the great speeds of the herd.

**<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">Adaptations: **

====<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Structural adaptation 1: Teeth ** ==== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** A structural adaptation of the Bluebuck was their teeth. The Bluebuck had six teeth along the cheek in both the upper and lower jaws, this formed two distinct series of three premolars followed by three molars. The remains of this animal can be distinguished from the other subspecies of antelope by the large premolars and high ratio of premolar row length to molar row length. They had two different groups of teeth in their mouths, the front and the back. In the front group of teeth were the incisors, they were used to collect and cut the food. The back group of teeth were vital for a bluebuck as they are the molars and pre molars which were used to grind the food. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**How it helps:** The teeth of the Bluebuck are a very important adaptation that ensured the survival of the species. The front group of teeth (incisors) are used to collect and cut the food. The back group of teeth, which consists of molars and pre molars, were used to grind the food. These were vital as Bluebucks were herbivores, meaning their diet consisted of only plants. The molars allowed the Bluebuck to break down the plants and make them able to digest the food easily. It helps it survive and reproduce otherwise it might starve to death because it couldn’t break the food down properly. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Environmental pressure:** An environmental pressure that lead the Bluebuck to develop this adaptation could have been the toughness of the grass and plants that it chooses to eat. This has caused them to develop the appropriate tools in order to break the plants down and make it

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Structural adaptation 2: Horns**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** A structural adaptation of the bluebuck is their horns. Similar to the Springbok, Bluebuck had black, ringed, curved horns and both male and female Bluebuck had horns. The average length of horns on a bluebuck was around 50-61cm (larger than springbok), although at around three years old the rams horns became larger and more curved, and the ewes stayed the same, except thinner and smaller than the rams. The horns had a curved shape, and extended upwards from the skull at almost right angles, then curving back in towards the shoulders. The horns of the Bluebuck had up to 35 rings and were black in colour. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**How it helps:** The horns of the bluebuck helped in a few major ways. The horns of the Bluebuck are hollow, which does not make them useful in fending off predators, as they are not sturdy and solid. Instead of being used to fight predators, they are used to fight each other. They fight against other, and usually over a ram or to gain territory. When rams fight against other rams, they usually lock their horns. Their fighting consists of front pressing, levering, lateral twisting which sometimes results in a fight to the death. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that has lead to bluebuck developing the adaptation of horns is the increasing numbers of territorial males. This had lead to males developing the need to compete with each other in order to mate with the ewes. When males compete with each other to gain territory, it ensures the strongest genes are passed on through the generations.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Structural adaptation 3: Fur**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** A structural adaptation of the Bluebuck is its short, blue/grey coat of fur. The hair of the Bluebuck was glossy and short and had a shade of grey with a hint of blue. The stomach of the antelope was white, with the top of its head and muzzle were a darker brown colour and had patches of white fur near to the eyes. The hair was used to protect the Bluebuck and provide with some insulation. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**How it helps:** Having short fur and a light grey colour helps the animal survive in two major ways. The short fur helps the springbok by providing little insulation, which is vital in the semi desert climate with the extreme temperatures. It ensures the survival by making sure the Bluebuck does not overheat and stays at a normal temperature. The light grey/blue coloured fur helps because the light colours retain less heat and also ensures the Bluebuck does not reach extreme temperatures. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that could have lead the Bluebuck to develop short, light coloured fur is the rising temperature. The increasing temperatures since the last ice age have caused the Bluebuck to adapt to the hot environment and develop fur that is more suitable to its climate.

====<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Behavioural adaptation 1: Territorial system ** ==== <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** A behavioural adaptation of the Bluebuck was their Conventional territorial system. This is a system in which the herds consist of territorial bulls, herds of cows and calves and bachelor herds, which were always kept separate from the territorial bulls. The dominance hierarchies were based on age and individual skill. This hierarchy was maintained not only by the rams, but the ewes as well, as their aggression and dangerously long horns lead to fights. In order to show high status, or dominance a ram would stand in an erect manner alone from the herd, with his neck arched, ears erect, head high and tail between their legs. This symbolizes to the rams their dominance and control. A fight between two Bluebucks would consist of the class or horns and head butting, whilst making a snorting sound. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**How it helps:** This very territorial system of the Bluebucks helps the species in a number of ways. It helps because it ensures, that by the rams fighting with each other that the dominant male will win, resulting in the stronger genes being passed on. This occurs because the hierarchy system guarantees the strong, dominant territorial rams will be at the top of the hierarchy, these are the ones that the ewes will mate with, and if all the ewes mate with the strongest males, it ensures that the strongest and best genes will be passed on to the offspring, and therefore resulting in an overall stronger Bluebuck population, that has a better chance of survival. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that has lead to Bluebucks becoming more territorial is the increasing number of males. This has lead to rams having to compete for land, and for going to the top of the hierarchy. This ensures the ongoing strength of the species as the strongest and most dominant genes are passed on.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Behavioural adaptation 2: Herds**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** The final behavioural adaptation of the Bluebuck is that they travel in herds. They travel in herds of up to 100 Bluebuck. They have a number of herds including bachelor herds, territorial males, calves and females which were always kept separate until mating. Their herds were not as close knit as those of the Springbok, with an average of 4/km2. Because the Bluebucks were located in such low densities they were accompanied by the same bull, and defended the area around them from predators. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**How it helps:** Travelling in a herd helps the Bluebuck because it makes it a harder target for predators as they are intimidated by their large numbers, therefore making it more likely to survive. It also helps as it defends the area it is in, protecting the young, old and weak from being targeted. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Environmental pressure:** An environmental pressure that could possibly have lead to them travelling in herds is the increase in predators. The increase in predators lead to the need for the Bluebuck to develop a defense system that will make it a less likely target for predators, therefore increasing the likelihood of their survival.

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Extinction Pressure**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The selection pressures that caused the extinction of the Bluebuck was the change in climate, introduction of new livestock and hunting/firearms. The change in climate contributed to extinction because around 2000 years ago there was a huge drop in numbers due to the warmer climate, this caused the Bluebuck to drop immensely in numbers, which it never recovered from. The introduction of new livestock such as sheep contributed to extinction as they had to compete with them, and they also brought with them a wide range of diseases. Finally, the main cause of extinction of the Bluebuck was hunting. The use of firearms by hunters was the main contributor to extinction as when the European settlers came to South Africa and they destroyed all the remaining herds

<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Bibilography:**
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. [], Title: Extinct animals: Bluebuck, Retrieved 16/6/2011, Date 2007, Author: Dinosaurs <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. [], Title; Hippotragus Leucophaeus, Retrieved 17/6/2011, Author: The website of everything <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">3 [], Title: Bluebuck, Retrieved 18/6/2011, Date: 2008, Author: Wikipedia