Queen of Sheba's Gazelle (Gazella bilkis)

Taxonomy

Queen of Sheba’s gazelle (Gazella bilkis) is a relatively recent extinct gazelle species, which was originally classified as Gazella gazella arabica, a subspecies of Arabian gazelle (Gazella arabica) in its description in 1985. The etymology ‘Gazella’ is ‘Gazelle’ from the North African Arabic pronunciation of ‘Ghazel’. ‘Bilkis’ may derive from a similar word ‘Bilqīs’, meaning concubine where the specimens of the species were found in Ta’izz, Yemen. ‘Bilqis’ is the name of the Queen of Sheba, according to the Qur’an (2).

Distribution and Extinction

G. bilkis is known from the sites of El-Hauban, Ta’izz, Usaifira, Jabal Zabra, and Mukha (probably traded) where specimens were collected (2,4). G. bilkis is considered to be an endemic species of Yemen that was common in Ta’izz(1,5). However, since the collection of specimens in 1951, there haven’t been any sightings of G. bilkis. In February 1992 a survey was led by Arnaud Greth in the mountains of Jabbel Sabit and Jabbel Samah between Ta'izz and Al Thurbah. No sightings of the gazelles were reported, and photographs of the gazelle were shown to over 100 local people in the villages visited, all locals replied that they hadn't seen the gazelle in the area for several decades (1). The expansion of the city of Ta’izz could have influenced the species’ natural habitats, as the gazelles weren’t seen in agricultural landscapes or by roads according to Sanborn and Hoogstraal, resulting in the species being on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss. However, the largest driver of G. bilkis’s extinction was overhunting, with a lack of effective conservation efforts to curtail illegal hunting (5). Currently, there aren’t any protected lands in Ta’izz or areas nearby to potentially support any hidden populations of G. bilkis, but the Yemeni government is looking to expand its protected areas (6). The Shabwah Youth Organisation reported, in the years 2020 to 2022: 3 Arabian leopards (Panthera pardus nimr) were killed in the governorate of Abyan, 63 Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) hunted in the governorates of Shabwah and Hadramaut, and 14 cases of gazelles were killed in the governorate of Shabwah(4). Formerly, there were captive populations of G. bilkis in Sheik Al-Thani's collection at Al Warba Wildlife Farm in Qatar(1). Maxwell and Chester zoo captively held small groups of G. bilkis that potentially hybridised with G. g. cora or G. g. erlangeri in the UK (1,5). Unfortunately, the failure to locate the species whilst conducting a systematic field of its range, and the absence of any sightings, support the conclusion that the Queen of Sheba gazelle is indeed extinct.

fig 1. The estimated distribution of G. bilkis and recorded sightings.

Morphology and Ecology

G. bilkis had a distinct pattern, and as a diagnostic feature, it is the darkest member of its genus. It featured a coffee-brown body coat with a secondary dark chocolate coat extending from its rear end to the start of the head. It had thick flank stripes, black and conspicuous, and below it a thin reddish under stripe. The belly was creamy white extending from its rostral tip sternum to the inner tips of its foreshack, inside of the thigh continuing down to the haunches(1). The pale fur extended thinley on the throat growing larger as it reached the jaws. The horns of the male were relatively straight and approximately 229.0 mm in length and included 12-15 rings.

G. bilkis were either solitary or in small groups of 1 to 3 individuals in euphorbia-covered hill slopes 1,230-2,150 metres above sea level. Not much is known about their biology, but they likely had similar ecological needs as other extinct local gazelle species—Mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), Saudi gazelle (Gazella saudiya), or Arabian gazelle (Gazella arabica)[5]. It is likely that the gazelle was hunted by common predators in the region such as the Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) or the Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs). 

References

  1. Greth, A., Williamson, D., Groves, C., Schwede, G., & Vassart, M. (October, 1993). Bilkis gazelle in Yemen - status and taxonomic relationships.

  2. Groves, P, C., & Lay, M. D. (A new species of the genus Gazella (Mammalia : Artiodactyla : Bovidae) from the Arabian Peninsula. https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.1985.49.1.27

  3. Greth, A., Magin, C., & Ancrenaz, M. (1996). Conservation of Arabian Gazelles

  4. Elmansoury, A. (2023, July 25). Under The Hunters’ Scythe. https://www.khuyut.com/article/endangered-animals-yem

  5. Mallom, D, P., & Kingswood, S, C. (2001). Yemen. In Mallon, D, P., & Al-Safadi, M. (EDs.), Antelopes : global survey and regional action plans, part 4 : North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. (4th ed, pp. 63-68). IUCN.

  6. Conflict and Environment Observatory. (2021, July). Report: Protected area conservation in Yemen’s conflict. https://ceobs.org/protected-area-conservation-in-yemens-conflict/#2