The Saola or Vu Quang ox, also, infrequently, Vu Quang bovid (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), one of the world's rarest mammals, is a forest-dwelling bovine found only in Vietnam (Vu Quang Nature Reserve) and in Laos, near the Vietnam-Laotian border. Its name Saola means spindle-[horned]. The scientific epithet nghetinhensis refers to the two Vietnamese provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh while Pseudoryx acknowledges the animal's similarities with the Arabian or African oryx. The Hmong natives call this beast saht-supahp, a term derived from Lao meaning "the polite animal", because it moves quietly through the forest. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Families Suidae Hippopotamidae Tayassuidae Camelidae Tragulidae Moschidae Cervidae Giraffidae Antilocapridae Bovidae The even-toed ungulates form the mammal order Artiodactyla. ... Subfamilies Bovinae Cephalophinae Hippotraginae Antilopinae Caprinae A bovid is any of almost 140 species of cloven-hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae. ... Tribes Bovini Boselaphini Strepsicerotini The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of about 24 species of medium-sized to large ungulates, including domestic cattle, Bison, the Water Buffalo, the Yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... FOREST, which describes itself as the voice and friend of the smoker, is a United Kingdom political pressure group that campaigns for the right of people to smoke tobacco and opposes attempts to ban or reduce tobacco consumption, as well as casting doubt on medical claims of the health risks... Tribes Bovini Boselaphini Strepsicerotini The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of about 24 medium-sized to large ungulates, including domestic cattle, bison, the Water Buffalo, the Yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. ... Motto: Peace, Independence, Democracy, Unity and Prosperity Anthem: Pheng Xat Lao Capital Vientiane Largest city Vientiane Official language(s) Lao Government President Prime Minister Communist state Khamtai Siphandon Boungnang Vorachith Independence  - Date From France 19 July 1949 Area  â€¢ Total  â€¢ Water (%)   236,800 km² (80th) 2% Population  â€¢ 2005 est. ... The word spindle might (or might not) have several meanings: A spindle (shrub), a poisonous shrub or small tree of the genus Euonymus. ... Nghe An Province is a province in Vietnam. ... Geography: Ha Tinh (in Vietnamese, Hà TÄ©nh) is a Province of Vietnam. ... Species Oryx beisa Oryx dammah Oryx gazella Oryx leucoryx An Oryx is one of three or four large antelope species of the genus Oryx, typically having long straight nearly upright horns. ... The Hmong, also known as Miao (considered derogatory by some: see below) (Chinese: è‹—pinyin: Miáo; Vietnamese: Mèo or HMông; Thai: แม้ว (Maew) or ม้ง (Mong); Burmese: mun lumyo), are an Asian ethnic group speaking the Hmong language, whose homeland is in the mountainous regions of southern China (especially...

Saolas have only been known to Western science since 1992, from several pairs of unusual horns obtained in Vietnam. Chromosomic analysis has since revealed that this is a new ruminant genus, related to cows, anoas, kudus or elands. It is still uncertain whether they are cattle, antelope or goats. It is not known how many of this species exist, as only 11 have been recorded alive. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Families Antilocapridae Bovidae Cervidae Giraffidae Moschidae Tragulidae A ruminant is any hooved animal that digests its food in two steps, first by eating the raw material and regurgitating a semi-digested form known as cud, then eating the cud, a process called ruminating. ... In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic grouping. ... COW is an acronym for a number of things: Can of worms The COW programming language, an esoteric programming language. ... Binomial name Bubalus quarlesi (Ouwens, 1910) Bubalus depressicornis (H. Smith, 1827) There are two species of anoa: the Mountain Anoa (Bubalus quarlesi) and the Lowland Anoa (Bubalus depressicornis). ... The Kudu are two species of antelope: Young Greater Kudu Bull Lesser Kudu, Tragelaphus imberbis Greater Kudu, Tragelaphus strepsiceros A Kudu horn is a musical instrument made from the horn of the Kudu antelope. ... Eland might refer to: Common Eland or Taurotragus oryx a savannah and plain antelope found in East and Southern Africa. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage, or kine [archaic]) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Genera Aepyceros Alcelaphus Antidorcas Antilope Cephalophus Connochaetes Damaliscus Gazella Hippotragus Kobus Madoqua Neotragus Oreotragus Oryx Ourebia Pantholops Procapra Sylvicapra Taurotragus Tragelaphus and others The antelope are a group of herbivorous African or Asian animals of the family Bovidae, distinguished by a pair of hollow horns on their heads. ... This article is about goats, the animals. ...

They can occasionally be viewed at General Cheng's zoo in Lak Xao, Laos. General Cheng Sayavong is the head of the Borisat Phattana Khed Phudoi (BPKP) or in English, the Mountainous Areas Development Company (MADC). ...

Habitat and distribution

The saola occurs in the Annamite Range's moist forests and the Eastern Indochina dry and monsoon forests. They have been spotted in steep river valleys at about 300 to 1800 m above sea level. These regions are distant from human settlements, covered primarily in evergreen or mixed evergreen and deciduous woodlands. The species seems to prefer edge zones of the forests. The Annamite Range or Phou Luang is a range of mountains along the border between Laos and Vietnam. ... Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ... Monsoon in the Vindhya, a mountain chain in central India A monsoon is a periodic wind, especially in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ...

Saolas stay in mountain forests during the wet seasons, when water in streams and rivers is abundant, and move down to the lowlands in winter. They are shy and never enter cultivated fields or come close to villages. To date, all known captive saolas have died, leading to the belief that this species cannot live in captivity.

Description

The saola stands about 85 cm at the shoulder and weighs approximately 90 kg. The coat is a dark brown with a black stripe along the back. Its legs are darkish and there are white patches on the feet, and white stripes vertically across the cheeks, on the eyebrows and splotches on the nose and chin. All saolas have slightly backward-curved horns, which grow to half a metre in length.

Local populations report having seen saolas traveling in packs of two or three, rarely more.

Diet

They are reported to eat small leafy plants—especially fig leaves, and stems along rivers. Saolas generally live in small groups of less than five animals. The animal seems to have a browsing diet, considering its small incisors. A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... Browser can refer to: browser - a type of herbivore whose nutrition generally comes from high growing plants, like trees, rather than a grazer that eats from the ground. ... Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. ...

Threat

The major threat is hunting—the species' meat being highly appreciated by local people—and degradation of its forest habitats in the region.

See also

Other rarely seen big mammals of the Indochina peninsula:

• Muntiacus putaoensis
• Muntiacus truongsonensis
• Muntiacus vuquangensis

Binomial name Muntiacus putaoensis The leaf muntjac or leaf deer (Muntiacus putaoensis) is a small species of muntjac. ... Binomial name Muntiacus truongsonensis Giao et al. ... Binomial name Muntiacus vuquangensis Wemmer et al. ...

External links

• Saola factsheet at Ultimate Ungulate
• "A new cow - a new species of ox, the pseudoryx, found in Southeast Asia - 1993 - The Year in Science", from Discover, Jan. 1994.
• The Vu Quang Bovid at BrainBox
• Vu Quang Ox - Pseudoryx nghetinhensis from the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre
• "A new species of living bovid from Vietnam" June 1993 article from Nature