Black wildebeest wildebeest can also affect human beings negatively. Wild individuals can be competitors of commercial livestock, and can transmit fatal diseases such as rinderpest, and cause epidemics among animals, particularly domestic cattle. They can also spread ticks, lungworms, tapeworms, flies, and paramphistome flukes. Black wildebeest The black wildebeest or white-tailed gnu ("Connochaetes gnou") is one of the two closely related wildebeest species. It is a member of the genus "Connochaetes" and family Bovidae. It was first described in 1780 by Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann. The black wildebeest is typically in head-and-body length, and the typical weight is . Males stand
Wildebeest 1800s. In the early 20th century, one species of the wildebeest, "C. albojubatus", was identified in eastern Africa. In 1914, two separate races of the wildebeest were introduced, namely "Gorgon a. albojubatus" ("Athi white-bearded wildebeest") and "G. a. mearnsi" ("Loita white-bearded wildebeest"). However, in 1939, the two were once again merged into a single race, "Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus". In the mid-20th century, two separate forms were recognised, "Gorgon taurinus hecki" and "G. t. albojubatus". Finally, two distinct types of wildebeest – the blue and black wildebeest – were identified. The blue wildebeest was at first placed under a separate genus,