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The sitatunga or marshbuck (''Tragelaphus spekii'') is a swamp-dwelling antelope found throughout Central Africa, centering on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, parts of Southern Sudan, Ghana, Botswana, Zambia, Gabon, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. ==Taxonomy== The scientific name of the sitatunga is ''Tragelaphus spekii''. It had been included in the genus ''Limnotragus'', but the animal is now placed under the genus ''Tragelaphus'' and in the family Bovidae. Within ''Tragelaphus'', the bushbuck, sitatunga and nyala are particularly close relatives. The sitatunga is almost indistinguishable from the nyala, except by pelage and spoor. The sitatunga and bushbuck are genetically similar enough to hybridise. Hybrids between the bongo and sitatunga have proved to be fertile. The species was first described by the English explorer John Hanning Speke in 1863. Speke first observed the sitatunga at a lake named "Little Windermere" (now Lake Lwelo, located in Kagera, Tanzania). In his book ''Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile'', Speke called the animal "nzoé" or "water-boc" (due to its resemblance to the waterbuck), and added in a footnote that the species had been named ''Tragelaphus spekii'' by Philip Sclater. However, according to Article 50.1.1 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, this is insufficient to state Sclater as the author.〔 Speke pointed out in his book that, though "closely allied" to the waterbuck, the sitatunga lacks stripes and is spotted instead. The toes are long, and the coat well-adapted to its moist habitat.〔 The sitatunga is more variable in its general characters than any other member of the tribe Strepsicerotini, probably because of their confinement to swampy and marshy habitats. On the basis of physical characteristics such as hair texture, coat colour and the presence or absence of stripes, three subspecies of the sitatunga have been recognised: * ''T. s. spekii'' Speke, 1863; also called East African sitatunga. * ''T. s. gratus'' P. L. Sclater, 1880; also called forest sitatunga. * ''T. s. selousi'' W. Rothschild, 1898; also called Zambezi sitatunga. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「sitatunga」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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