Goitered Gazelle
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| Goitered Gazelle Conservation status: Lower risk (nt) | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Persian_Goitered_Gazelle2.jpg Goitered Gazelle in captivity | ||||||||||||||
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| Gazella subgutturosa (Güldenstädt, 1780) |
The Goitered, Black-tailed or Persian gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) is a gazelle found in a large area of central Asia, including part of Iran in the western end of the range, as well as the Gobi desert. The specific name means 'full below the throat' and refers to the male having an enlargement of the neck and throat during the mating season. This is not a true goitre, which is caused by the enlargement of the thyroid gland.
It inhabits sands and gravel plains and limestone plateau (Harrison). G. subgutturosa runs at high speed, without the leaping, or bounding gait seen in other gazelle species (Harrison). Throughout much of their range, Goitered gazelles undergo seasonal migrations. Herds cover 10-30 kilometres per day in the winter, with these distances being reduced nearly tenfold in summer.