Back ساولا Arabic ساولا ARZ Псевдоорикс AV Inkematol (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) AVK Adi saola AZ Pseudoryx nghetinhensis BE Саола Bulgarian Saola BR Pseudoryx nghetinhensis Catalan Pseudoryx nghetinhensis CEB

Saola

For typhoons named Saola, see Typhoon Saola.

Saola
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Bovinae
Tribe: Bovini
Genus: Pseudoryx
Dung, Giao, Chinh, Tuoc, Arctander & MacKinnon, 1993
Species:
P. nghetinhensis
Binomial name
Pseudoryx nghetinhensis
Dung, Giao, Chinh, Tuoc, Arctander & MacKinnon, 1993
Range in Vietnam and Laos

The saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is one of the world's rarest large mammals, a forest-dwelling bovine native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of remains in Vũ Quang National Park by a joint survey of the Vietnamese Ministry of Forestry and the World Wide Fund for Nature.[2][3][4] Saolas have since been kept in captivity multiple times, although only for short periods as they died within a matter of weeks to months.[5] The species was first reported in 1992 by Do Tuoc, a forest ecologist, and his associates.[5] The first photograph of a living saola was taken in captivity in 1993. The most recent one was taken in 2013 by a movement-triggered camera in the forest of central Vietnam.[6][7] It is the only species in the genus Pseudoryx.

  1. ^ a b Timmins, R. J.; Hedges, S. & Robichaud, W. (2016) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Pseudoryx nghetinhensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T18597A166485696. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  2. ^ Dung, V. V.; Giao, P. M.; Chinh, N. N.; Tuoc, D.; Arctander, P. & MacKinnon, J. (1993). "A new species of living bovid from Vietnam". Nature. 363 (6428): 443–445. Bibcode:1993Natur.363..443V. doi:10.1038/363443a0. S2CID 4243603.
  3. ^ Grubb, P. (2005). "Species Pseudoryx nghetinhensis". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 695. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. ^ Stone, R. (2006). "The Saola's Last Stand". Science. 314 (5804): 1380–1383. doi:10.1126/science.314.5804.1380. PMID 17138879. S2CID 130425782.
  5. ^ a b Stone, Richard (August 2008). "Mystery in Vietnam". Smithsonian. pp. 18–20.
  6. ^ "Saola sighting in Vietnam raises hopes for rare mammal's recovery: Long-horned ox photographed in forest in central Vietnam, 15 years after last sighting of threatened species in wild". The Guardian. 2013.
  7. ^ "Saola Rediscovered: Rare Photos of Elusive Species from Vietnam". World Wildlife Federation. 2013.