Four Horned Antelope

Introduction

Four Horned Antelope or Chousingha with the scientific name Tetracerus quadricornis is a small antelope with four horns native to India. It is the only species under the genus Tetracerus. They are also spotted in Nepal. Antelope is a mammal species that is found to be a part of the Bovidae family. However, not all members of Bovidae family are to be considered antelopes. The term 'antelope' refers to a miscellaneous group within the Bovidae family. The quick classification of the four horned antelope is as below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Bovidae
Genus	Tetracerus
Species	Tetracerus quadricornis
Subspecies	Martes flavigula flavigula

Physical Structure

Four horned antelope is a small, slender built antelope with dark brown or reddish-brown colored coat and makes itself distinct with other mammals with its four horns. The hair over the coat is short, thin and coarse. The horns are short, smooth and conical. Two horns grow in between the ears and the other pair at the front of forehead. Only males possess these paired horns. The first pair of horns grow few months from its birth; the second pair appears after 10 to 14 months. They have white colored thin legs, short yellow-brown colored tail and their ears are blackish brown. They have small, rounded hoofs present at the front side.