Wildebeest of her own, "Nelly Gnu and Daddy Too". Wildebeest Wildebeests, also called gnus, are antelopes in the genus Connochaetes. They belong to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep, and other even-toed horned ungulates. "Connochaetes" includes two species, both native to Africa: the black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu ("C. gnou"), and the blue wildebeest or brindled gnu ("C. taurinus"). Fossil records suggest these two species diverged about one million years ago, resulting in a northern and a southern species. The blue wildebeest remained in its original range and changed very little from the ancestral species, while the black
Blue wildebeest placed in a separate genus, "Gorgon". In a study of the mitotic chromosomes and mtDNA, which was undertaken to understand more of the evolutionary relationships between the two species, the two were found to have a close phylogenetic relationship and had diverged about a million years ago. "C. taurinus" has five subspecies: The blue wildebeest is known to hybridise with the black wildebeest. The differences in social behaviour and habitats have historically prevented interspecific hybridisation, but it may occur when both species are confined within the same area, and the offspring are usually fertile. A study of these hybrid animals