Abstract
ONLY two large mammals of South Africa have become extinct in the historical period, namely, the quagga and the blue buck. The blue buck (Hippotragus leucophæus) lived in the south-west part of Cape Colony, and is believed to have been exterminated about 1799. About half a dozen mounted specimens have been preserved, mostly rather bad, and perhaps about three more pairs of horns exist the determination of which is doubtful. No specimen of the skull is known to exist, except perhaps in some of the mounted specimens.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BROOM, R. The Extinct Blue Buck of South Africa. Nature 164, 1097–1098 (1949). https://doi.org/10.1038/1641097b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1641097b0
This article is cited by
-
Assessing the identity of rare historical museum specimens of the extinct blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus) using an ancient DNA approach
Mammalian Biology (2023)
-
Identifying the true number of specimens of the extinct blue antelope (Hippotragus leucophaeus)
Scientific Reports (2021)
-
Extinction of the blue antelope Hippotragus leucophaeus: modeling predicts non-viable global population size as the primary driver
Biodiversity and Conservation (2009)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
