Saiga and Pantholops are problematic genera in taxonomy.[2]Saiga was traditionally classified as a member of the tribe Saigini, within the subfamily Caprinae[1][3] but some authors suggested that the genus Saiga was closer to the subfamily Antilopinae.
[4] In 2000 Groves analyzed the morphological characters of Procapra, Prodorcas and Saiga, and proposed three basal groups of Antilopinae, one of which included a cladeSaiga + Procapra.[5]
The genus Panthalops is monotypic (P. hodgsonii), and is sometimes included in the tribe Saigini on the basis of similar morphological features, most of which are plesiomorphic. However, molecular and morphological findings suggest that Pantholops hodgsonii should be classified more correctly in the subfamily Caprinae,[4][6] but the status of the Tibetan gazelle in this subfamily remains uncertain. Data on cytochrome b and small portions of 12S and 16S ribosomal genes suggest phylogenetic affinities of Saiga and Procapra with Antilopinae.[4][7][8] However, these studies do not clarify the close relationships within this clade. Given this uncertainty, some authors have suggested that the Saigini taxon should be abandoned.[8]
References
^ abSimpson, G. G. (1945). "The principles of classification and a classification of mammals". Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 85: 1–350.
^Kuznetsova, Maria V.; Kholodova, Marina V. (December 2002). "Molecular support for the placement of Saiga and Procapra in Antilopinae (Artiodactyla, Bovidae)". Mammalian Evolution. 9 (4): 271–280. doi:10.1023/A:1023973929597. S2CID27452274.
^Bannikov, A.; L. Zhirnov; Lebedeva & Fadeev, A (1967): "Biology of the Saiga". Israel Program for Scientifica Translatios, Jerusalem.
^Groves, C. P. (2000). "Phylogenetic relationships within recent Antlopini (Bovidae). In: Elizabeth S. Vrba and George B. Schaller, eds. Antelopes, Deer, and Relatives: Fossil Record, Behavioral Ecology, Systematics, and Conservation. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN978-0-3000-8142-8, pp. 223-233.
^Hassanin, Alexandre; Douzery, Emanuel J.P. (November 1999). "The tribal radiation of the family Bovidae (Artiodactyla) and the evolution of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 13 (2): 227–243. doi:10.1006/mpev.1999.0619. PMID10603253.