Tibetan antelope

The Tibetan antelope or chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii) (Tibetan: གཙོད་, Wylie: gtsod , pronounced [tsǿ]; Chinese: 藏羚羊; pinyin: zàng língyáng) is a medium-sized bovid native to the Tibetan plateau. Fewer than 75,000 individuals are left in the wild. In recent years,they have become endangered due to poaching. They are hunted for their soft and warm wool which is usually obtained after death. This wool is known as shahtoosh and is used to weave shawls . At present, international trade in their products is strictly prohibited.

Classification

The Tibetan antelope is the sole species in the genus Pantholops, named from the Greek for "all antelope". It was formerly classified in the Antilopinae subfamily, but morphological and molecular evidence led to it being placed in its own subfamily, Pantholopinae, closely allied to goat-antelopes of the subfamily Caprinae. However, this has been disputed, and some authors consider the Tibetan antelope to be a true member of the Caprinae.

Although the genus Pantholops is currently monotypic, a fossil species, P. hundesiensis, is known from the Pleistocene of Tibet. It was slightly smaller than the living species, with a narrower skull. In addition, the fossil genus Qurliqnoria, from the Miocene of China, is thought to be an early member of the Pantholopinae, which diverged from the goat-antelopes around this time.