page_title: Oribi
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Oribi / Taxonomy
context_page_description: The oribi is a small antelope found in eastern, southern and western Africa. The sole member of its genus, the oribi was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1782. Eight subspecies are identified. The oribi reaches nearly 50–67 centimetres at the shoulder and weighs 12–22 kilograms. This antelope features a slightly raised back, and long neck and limbs. The glossy, yellowish to rufous brown coat contrasts with the white chin, throat, underparts and rump. Only males possess horns; the thin, straight horns, 8–18 centimetres long, are smooth at the tips and ringed at the base.
  Typically diurnal, the oribi is active mainly during the day. Small herds of up to four members are common; males defend their group's territory, 25–100 hectares large. The oribi is primarily a grazer, and prefers fresh grasses and browses occasionally. A seasonal breeder, the time when mating occurs varies geographically. Unlike all other small antelopes, oribi can exhibit three types of mating systems, depending on the habitat – polyandry, polygyny and polygynandry.
context_section_description: The scientific name of the oribi is Ourebia ourebi. The sole member of its genus, the oribi is placed under the family Bovidae. The species was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1782. The oribi was formerly included in the tribe Neotragini, that comprised a variety of other dwarf antelopes, including Dorcatragus (beira), Madoqua (dik dik), Neotragus, Oreotragus (klipspringer) and Raphicerus. In 1963, German mammalogist Theodor Haltenorth separated the oribi and Raphicerus into a new tribe, Raphicerini; later on, zoologist Jonathan Kingdon assigned the oribi to Ourebini, a tribe of its own. The common name "oribi" comes from the Afrikaans name for the animal, oorbietjie.
  In a revision of the phylogeny of the tribe Antilopini on the basis of nuclear and mitochondrial data in 2013, Eva Verena Bärmann (of the University of Cambridge) and colleagues showed that the oribi is the sister taxon to all other antilopines. The cladogram below is based on the 2013 study.
  The following eight subspecies are identified:
  O. o. dorcas Schwarz, 1914
  O. o. gallarum Blaine, 1913
  O. o. haggardi (Thomas, 1895) – Occurs in eastern Africa. Listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
  O. o. hastata (Peters, 1852) – Ranges from Kenya southward into Mozambique and eastward into Angola
  † O. o. kenyae Meinhertzhagen, 1905 – Occurred on the lower slopes of Mount Kenya.
  O. o. montana (Cretzschmar, 1826) – Ranges from northern Nigeria eastward into Ethiopia and southward into Uganda.
  O. o. ourebi (Zimmermann, 1783) – Its range lies south of Zambezi River.
  O. o. quadriscopa (C. H. Smith, 1827) – Occurs in western Africa
  O. o. rutila Blaine, 1922
  Of these, zoologists Colin Groves and Peter Grubb identify O. o. hastata, O. o. montana, O. o. ourebi and O. o. quadriscopa as independent species in their 2011 publication Ungulate Taxonomy.
caption: Illustration c. 1894
exif: {}