Subtle diversification of buccal semets in tragelaphin antelopes, part 2

...continued from https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/milewski/70123-buccal-semets-in-tragelaphins-from-elands-to-bushbucks-part-1#

DISCUSSION

It is possible that there is an ultraviolet component, hardly visible in human eyes, in the semets of tragelaphins. However, I limit the following discussion to the patterns visible to us in the photos presented.

The buccal semet of males of Strepsiceros strepsiceros is among the most conspicuous in this study (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67301987). This suggests an ability, in this species, for male individuals to monitor each other when lying under the scattered woody plants in its semi-arid habitat.

It is tempting to assume that the small-scale patterns on the heads of tragelaphins represent a kind of ancestral pattern, shared in common among genera.

However, this study dispels this notion. In fact, each genus and species (except for the two spp. of bushbuck) has its own pattern, suggesting some sort of adaptive radiation.

Posted on Σεπτέμβριος 20, 2022 0935 ΜΜ by milewski