page_title: Thomson's gazelle
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Thomson's gazelle / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Thomson's Gazelle, Gazella thomsonii, picture taken in Tanzania
context_page_description: Thomson's gazelle is one of the best-known gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and is sometimes referred to as a "tommie". It is considered by some to be a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle and was formerly considered a member of the genus Gazella within the subgenus Eudorcas, before Eudorcas was elevated to genus status. Thomson's gazelles can be found in numbers exceeding 550,000 in Africa and are recognized as the most common type of gazelle in East Africa. The Thomson's gazelle can reach speeds of 80–90 km/h. It is the fourth-fastest land animal, after the cheetah, pronghorn, and springbok.
context_section_description: Thomson's gazelle is a relatively small gazelle; it stands 55–82 cm (22–32 in) at the shoulder. Males weigh 20–35 kg (44–77 lb), while the slightly lighter females weigh 15–25 kg (33–55 lb). The head-and-body length is typically between 80 and 120 cm (31 and 47 in). Kingdon noted that physical measurements show a decrease from the northern to the southern parts of the gazelle's range. Facial characteristics of the gazelle include white rings around the eyes, black stripes running from a corner of the eye to the nose, rufous stripes running from the horns to the nose, a dark patch on the nose, and a light forehead.
  The coat is sandy brown to rufous; a distinctive black band runs across the flanks, from the upper foreleg to just above the upper hind leg. A buff band can be seen just above the black stripe. Short, black streaks mark the white rump. The black tail measures 15–27 cm (5.9–10.6 in). Males have well-developed preorbital glands near the eyes, which are used for scent-marking territories. Both sexes possess horns that curve slightly backward with the tips facing forward. The horns, highly ringed, measure 25–43 cm (9.8–16.9 in) on males and 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) on females. However, females have highly fragile horns; some are even hornless. Grant's gazelle is very similar to Thomson's gazelle, but can be differentiated by its larger size and a large white patch on the rump.
  The two subspecies differ markedly in their appearance. The eastern Thomson's gazelle is the larger of the two, with fainter facial markings. The Serengeti Thomson's gazelle, though, has a whiter face with more conspicuous markings. The horns of females are shorter than those of males to a greater degree in the eastern Thomson's gazelle; moreover, the horns are more divergent in the eastern Thomson gazelle.
caption: The close-up of male's head: The male of Thomson's gazelle  can distinguished by horns that are bigger and longer than those of female.
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