Editing Impala (section)

==Description==
[[File:ImpalaSerengetiNationalParkMar2011.jpg|thumbnail|upright|alt=A grooming male at Serengeti National Park|Close view of a male, with characteristic lyre-shaped horns, white tail and several black markings]]

The impala is a medium-sized, slender-bodied [[antelope]], comparable to the [[kob]], [[puku]] and [[Grant's gazelle]] in size and build.<ref name="estes">{{cite book |last = Estes |first = R.D. |author-link = Richard Despard Estes |title = The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates |year = 2004 |publisher = University of California Press |location = Berkeley, US |isbn = 978-0-520-08085-0 |pages = 158–66 |edition = 4th |url = {{Google Books|page=158|id=g977LsZHpcsC|plainurl=yes}} |oclc = 19554262}}</ref> The head-and-body length is around {{convert|130|cm|in}}.<ref name="Liebenberg">{{cite book|last1 = Liebenberg |first1 = L. |title = A Field Guide to the Animal Tracks of Southern Africa |date = 1990 |publisher = D. Philip |location = Cape Town, South Africa |isbn = 978-0-86486-132-0 |pages = 275–6 |url = {{Google Books|id=3Aco4wVvpdUC|page=275|plainurl=yes}} |oclc = 24702472}}</ref> Males reach approximately {{cvt|75|-|92|cm|in}} at the shoulder, while females are {{cvt|70|-|85|cm|in}} tall. Males typically weigh {{convert|53|-|76|kg|lb}} and females {{cvt|40|-|53|kg|lb}}. [[Sexual dimorphism|Sexually dimorphic]], females are hornless and smaller than males. Males grow slender, lyre-shaped horns {{cvt|45|-|92|cm|in}} long.<ref name="estes" /> The horns, strongly ridged and divergent, are circular in section and hollow at the base. Their arch-like structure allows interlocking of horns, which helps a male throw off his opponent during fights; horns also protect the skull from damage.<ref name="kingdon" /><ref name="estes" />

The glossy coat of the impala shows two-tone colouration{{snds}}the reddish brown back and the tan flanks; these are in sharp contrast to the white underbelly. Facial features include white rings around the eyes and a light chin and [[snout]]. The ears, {{cvt|17|cm|in}} long, are tipped with black.<ref name="kingdon" /><ref name=Stuart /> Black streaks run from the buttocks to the upper hindlegs. The bushy white tail, {{cvt|30|cm|in}} long, features a solid black stripe along the midline.<ref name="Stuart">{{cite book|last1 = Stuart |first1 = C. |last2 = Stuart |first2 = T. |title = Field Guide to Mammals of Southern Africa |date = 2001 |publisher = Struik Publishers |location = Cape Town, South Africa |isbn = 978-1-86872-537-3 |page = 210 |edition = 3rd |url = {{Google Books|id=sdY_sa1FPw0C|page=210|plainurl=yes}} |oclc = 46643659}}</ref> The impala's colouration bears a strong resemblance to the [[gerenuk]], which has shorter horns and lacks the black thigh stripes of the impala.<ref name=kingdon /> The impala has [[scent gland]]s covered by a black tuft of hair on the hindlegs. 2-Methylbutanoic Acid and 2-Nonanone have been identified from this gland.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wood | first1 = William F. | year = 1997 | title = 2-Methylbutanoic Acid and 2-Nonanone from the Metatarsal Glands of Impala, Aepyceros melampus | journal = Biochemical Systematics and Ecology | volume = 25 | issue = 3 | pages = 275 | doi=10.1016/S0305-1978(97)00011-2| bibcode = 1997BioSE..25..275W }}</ref> [[Sebaceous gland]]s concentrated on the forehead and dispersed on the torso of dominant males<ref name="estes" /><ref name="cavendish">{{cite book |last = Armstrong |first = M. |title = Wildlife and Plants |volume = 9| year = 2007 |publisher = Marshall Cavendish |location = New York, US |isbn = 978-0-7614-7693-1 |edition = 3rd |pages = 538–9 |url = {{Google Books|id=W7TJGrHh0yIC|page=538|plainurl=yes}} |oclc = 229311414}}</ref> are most active during the mating season, while those of females are only partially developed and do not undergo seasonal changes.<ref>{{cite journal |last1 = Welsch |first1 = U. |last2 = van Dyk |first2 = G. |last3 = Moss |first3 = D. |last4 = Feuerhake |first4 = F. |title = Cutaneous glands of male and female impalas (''Aepyceros melampus''): seasonal activity changes and secretory mechanisms |journal = [[Cell and Tissue Research]] |date = 1998 |volume = 292 |issue = 2 |pages = 377–94 |doi = 10.1007/s004410051068|pmid = 9560480 |s2cid = 3127722 }}</ref> There are four [[mammary gland|nipples]].<ref name="estes" />

Of the subspecies, the black-faced impala is significantly larger and darker than the common impala; [[melanism]] is responsible for the black colouration.<ref name="Hoven">{{cite book|last1=Hoven|first1=W.|editor1-last=van der Duim|editor1-first=R.|editor2-last=Lamers|editor2-first=M.|editor3-last=van Wijk|editor3-first=J.|title=Institutional Arrangements for Conservation, Development and Tourism in Eastern and Southern Africa|date=2015|publisher=Springer|location=Dordrecht, Netherlands|isbn=978-94-017-9528-9|pages=101–18|chapter=Private game reserves in southern Africa|chapter-url={{Google Books|id=Tn5qBQAAQBAJ|page=101|plainurl=yes}} |oclc = 895661132}}</ref> Distinctive of the black-faced impala is a dark stripe, on either side of the nose, that runs upward to the eyes and thins as it reaches the forehead.<ref name=Liebenberg /><ref name=Stuart /> Other differences include the larger black tip on the ear, and a bushier and nearly 30% longer tail in the black-faced impala.<ref name="kingdon">{{cite book |last1 = Kingdon |first1 = J. |author1-link = Jonathan Kingdon |last2 = Happold |first2 = D. |last3 = Butynski |first3 = T. |last4 = Happold |first4 = M. |last5 = Hoffmann |first5 = M. |last6 = Kalina |first6 = J. |title = Mammals of Africa |year = 2013 |publisher = Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |location = London, UK |isbn = 978-1-4081-8996-2 |pages = 479–84 |url={{Google Books|id=B_07noCPc4kC|page=RA4-PA479|plainurl=yes}} |oclc = 854973585}}</ref>

The impala has a special dental arrangement on the front lower jaw similar to the [[toothcomb]] seen in [[Strepsirrhini|strepsirrhine primates]],<ref name="mckenzie">{{cite journal |last = McKenzie |first = A.A. |title = The ruminant dental grooming apparatus |journal = [[Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society]] |date = 1990 |volume = 99 |issue = 2 |pages = 117–28 |doi = 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1990.tb00564.x }}</ref> which is used during [[allogrooming]] to comb the fur on the head and the neck and remove [[ectoparasite]]s.<ref name="kingdon" /><ref name="Mills">{{cite book |last1 = Mills |first1 = G. |last2 = Hes |first2 = L. |title = The Complete Book of Southern African Mammals |date = 1997 |publisher = Struik Publishers |location = Cape Town, South Africa |isbn = 978-0-947430-55-9 |page = 271 |edition = 1st |url = {{Google Books|id=CavgCweI1nMC|page=271|plainurl=yes}} |oclc = 37480533}}</ref>