Left: Pronghorn buck. Photographer: Gerald and Buff Corsi. Copyright © 1999 California Academy of Sciences. Right: Pronghorn buck in Chihuahuan Desert habitat; the dominant shrub in the picture is Creosotebush. Photograph by Lauri L. Lear.
Chihuahuan Desert Pronghorns. Left: doe; right, doe and fawn. Photographs by Lauri L. Lear.
This uniquely American artiodactyl is the sole survivor of a family of ungulates that has had its entire evolutionary history in North America. Other species survived to the end of the Pleistocene ice age, overlapping the entry of humans into North America.
This animal usually is called Antelope by the general public, but mammalogists prefer the name Pronghorn to separate these animals from the true antelopes, now limited to the Old World.
Last Update: 27 Jul 2009