NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Puku
Kobus vardonii (Livingstone, 1857)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Puku Male, S. Luangwa, Zambia,
Taken and submitted by Paul Maritz (paulmaz) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The puku (Kobus vardonii) is a medium-sized antelope found in wet grasslands in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and more concentrated in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Nearly one-third of all puku are found in protected areas, zoos, and national parks due to their diminishing habitat.
Wikipedia contributors, Puku; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:19:51.289660+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Kobus vardonii (Livingstone, 1857)
- Name authority
- (Livingstone, 1857)
- Common name
- Puku
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Kobus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderArtiodactyla Owen, 1848
- familyBovidae Gray, 1821
- subfamilyAntilopinae Gray, 1821
- tribeReduncini Knottnerus-Meyer, 1907
- genusKobus A. Smith, 1840
- speciesKobus vardonii (Livingstone, 1857)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Kobus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ellipsen WaterbuckKobus ellipsiprymnus (Ogilby, 1833) | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Buffon's KobKobus kob (Erxleben, 1777) | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| LechweKobus leche Gray, 1850 | BovidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Kobus vardoni (Livingstone, 1857) (Livingstone, 1857) | synonym |
| Kobus vardonii senganus (P. L. Sclater & Thomas, 1897) (P. L. Sclater & Thomas, 1897) | synonym |
| Kobus vardonii vardonii (Livingstone, 1857) (Livingstone, 1857) | synonym |
| Antilope vardonii Livingstone, 1857 Livingstone, 1857 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=625184 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3RB5V. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.