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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
1

An osteological comparison between bontebok Damaliscus pygargus pygargus and blesbok, Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi and its bearing on the evolution of bontebok

Vilakazi, Nonhlanhla 09 April 2009 (has links)
The alcelaphine species Damaliscus pygargus has two subspecies: the bontebok Damaliscus pygargus pygargus and the blesbok Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi. On analogy with black wildebeest evolution, it is thought that the two subspecies became biogeographically distinct during the Last Glacial, when lowered sea levels exposed additional plains habitat on the continental platform. This would have caused reproductive isolation between interior and coastal populations with the Cape Fold Mountains acting as biogeographic barrier. The aim of this study was to test the possibility of the osteological discrimination between the two subspecies by using reference specimens from the National Museum, Bloemfontein, and Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town. It was hypothesized that bone morphology and measurements would serve to differentiate between the subspecies, which are adapted to different environments, and thus experience different stresses. However, results showed no significant differences between the two subspecies osteologically.

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