Pronghorn
The pronghorn (UK: /ˈprɒŋhɔːrn/, US: /ˈprɔːŋ-/) (Antilocapra americana) is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope and prairie antelope, because it closely resembles the antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar ecological niche due to parallel evolution. It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae.
| Pronghorn Temporal range: Early Pleistocene – Recent | |
|---|---|
| Adult male pronghorn in Oregon | |
| Adult female pronghorn in Wyoming | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Antilocapridae |
| Subfamily: | Antilocaprinae |
| Tribe: | Antilocaprini |
| Genus: | Antilocapra |
| Species: | A. americana |
| Binomial name | |
| Antilocapra americana (Ord, 1815) | |
| Subspecies | |
|
A. a. americana | |
| Range of the pronghorn | |
During the Pleistocene epoch, about 11 other antilocaprid species existed in North America, many with long or spectacularly-twisted horns. Three other genera (Capromeryx, Stockoceros and Tetrameryx) existed when humans entered North America but are now extinct.
The pronghorn's closest living relatives are the giraffe and okapi. The Antilocaprids are part of the infraorder Pecora, making them distant relatives of giraffids, deer, bovids, and moschids.
The pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in the Americas, with running speeds of up to 88.5 km/h (55 mph). It is the symbol of the American Society of Mammalogists.