Goitered gazelle  (Gazella subgutturosa)

This gazelle receives its common name due to the goiter-like swelling on the throat, which is an enlarged cartilaginous cylinder that is larger and more distinctive in males, especially during the breeding season, and allows them to emit loud bellows in courtship (2). Unlike most gazelles, females of this species are mostly, although not always, hornless (2) (9), while males boast long, elegantly curved, lyre-like, black horns that diverge outwards and turn back in at the tip (9). Interestingly, horn development in females increases from Mongolia and China, where they are almost completely hornless, to the Arabian Peninsula, where they have well-developed horns. Goitered gazelles vary in colouration between populations, from nearly white to brown with different tones of grey, red or yellow. Generally, the very light brown colouration of the back darkens towards the flanks, where it meets the white underparts in a crisp line, and the black colouration of the first two thirds of the tail contrasts starkly against the white of the buttocks (2). In Central and Middle Asia young have distinct facial stripes and spots on a coloured background, which tend to white and fade with age, but in Saudi Arabia even young have a white face without markings. Eyes are large and black, and the ears are long. Legs and neck are relatively long and the tail is quite short. Males are larger and heavier than females (3) (4) (10).