coastal bushbuck Tragelaphus ornatus Pocock, 1900 – Chobe bushbuck Tragelaphus sylvaticus (Sparrman, 1780) – Cape bushbuck Tragelaphus buxtoni (Lydekker, 1910) – mountain nyala Tragelaphus euryceros (Ogilby, 1837) – bongo Tragelaphus euryceros isaaci (Thomas, 1902) – mountain bongo Tragelaphus euryceros euryceros (Ogilby, 1837) – lowland bongo Tragelaphus spekii group Speke, 1863 – sitatungas Tragelaphus spekii Speke, 1863 – East African sitatunga Tragelaphus sylvestris (Meinertzhagen, 1916) – Nkosi Island sitatunga Tragelaphus larkenii (St. Leger, 1931) – Nile sitatunga Tragelaphus ugallae Matschie, 1913 – Tanzanian sitatunga Tragelaphus gratus Sclater, 1880 – western sitatunga Tragelaphus selousi Rothschild, 1898 – Zambezi sitatunga Natural history General description The spiral-horned antelopes are medium to large antelopes and generally are tall and long-legged. Horns are present in the males of all species, while females lack them with the exception of bongos and elands. The horns primarily role is used for defensive horn-wrestling which are common during territorial disputes, as well has for horn soiling and sexual display. Other examples of extreme sexual dimorphism can be seen among spiral-horned antelopes. Males are much larger in size than the females, and both sexes have very contrasting pelage coloration. The coloration in females is generally tan to red-brown. Males area a darker hue of the female coloration, which they darken as the animal gets older. Regardless of the coloration of the sexes, most species of spiral-horned antelopes have disruptive coloration that is a distinctive white vertical barring (striped pattern). A spotting pattern can occur as well. Both patterns are individually and geographically variable. These patterns help them to conceal themselves in the dense vegetation from predators. Most species have a white chevron between the eyes, spotted cheeks, the throat having a white patch and the upper-forelegs with dark garters. All except the nyala and the greater kudu have a chest crescent. In addition there are also physical attributes that serve a purpose in social communication such as dorsal crests, white scuts and white tips on the horns. These features help express the animal's emotions as well as alerting members of the herd from predators. Underneath the hair fringe in the hind feet are special glands that encircles the false hooves. Distribution and ecology All species are found in a majority of sub-Saharan Africa in various woodland habitats such as rainforests, swamps, open savannahs, mountains, and sub-deserts. With the exception of the eland and sitatunga, spiral-horned antelopes are all browsers. All species