Addax
Addax nasomaculatus (Blainville, 1816)
CRCritically Endangeredmammals
The addax (Addax nasomaculatus), also called the screwhorn antelope or white screwhorn antelope, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Hippotragini. It is a large, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore with a representative adult body mass of 70 kg, and reported adult weights from 60 to 125 kg.
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Quick facts about the addax
Gestation lasts 276 days, females have 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, and sexual maturity is reached at 2.6 years. The addax is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and its recorded lifespan is 25.7 years, with values up to 28.2 years.
- Weight
- 60 kg – 125 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Height
- 95 cm – 1.15 msrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 25.7 years – 28.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- leavessrc for Main food
- Habitat
- desertsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 259 days – 276 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.59 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the addax?
Photos of the addax
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the addax live?
Not recorded
What is the addax?
The addax (Addax nasomaculatus), also known as the white antelope and the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope native to the Sahara. The only member of the genus Addax, it was first described scientifically by Henri de Blainville in 1816. As suggested by its alternative name, the addax has spiral horns that are 55 to 80 cm (22 to 31 in) long in females and 70 to 85 cm (28 to 33 in) in males. In the winter, its coat is greyish-brown with white hindquarters and legs, and long, brown hair on the head, neck, and shoulders; in the summer, the coat turns almost completely white or sandy blonde. Males stand from 105 to 115 cm (41 to 45 in) at the shoulder, with females at 95 to 110 cm (37 to 43 in). They are sexually dimorphic, as the females are generally smaller than the males.
The addax lives in arid regions, semideserts, and sandy and stony deserts in North Africa. It mainly eats grasses and leaves of shrubs, leguminous herbs, and bushes. It can live without water for long periods of time. Addax form herds of five to 20 members, consisting of both males and females. The herd is usually led by one dominant male. Breeding season is at its peak during winter and early spring.
The addax is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. It was once abundant, but is currently restricted to Chad, Mauritania, and Niger. It is threatened by unregulated hunting and is locally extinct in Western Sahara, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan.
From the Wikipedia article “Addax” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Addax&oldid=1376500189), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the addax endangered?
The addax is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Critically Endangered species.
How is the addax classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusAddax
- SpeciesAddax nasomaculatus (Blainville, 1816)
Synonyms Antilope nasomaculata, Cerophorus nasomaculata
Other names and names in other languages (29)
- Screwhorn antelopeEnglish
- White screwhorn antelopeEnglish
- Addaks-antiloopAfrikaans
- مها أبو عدسArabic
- ظبي لولبي القرونArabic
- adaxAsturian
- adax núbijskýCzech
- MendesantilopeGerman
- Addax-AntilopeGerman
- AdaxxSpanish
- saharanantilooppiFinnish
- Antilope blancheFrench
- דישון מקראיHebrew
- ԱդդակսArmenian
- Antilope addaxItalian
- Antilope dalle corna a viteItalian
- アダックスJapanese
- 아닥스Korean
- 나사뿔영양Korean
- 애댁스Korean
- AddaxantilopeNorwegian Bokmål
- AdaksPolish
- adaks pustynnyPolish
- ÁdaxPortuguese
- АддаксRussian
- mendeška antilopaSlovenian
- addaxantilopSwedish
- AddaksTurkish
- 旋角羚Chinese
Relatives of the addax
Other species in the same family Bovidae.
Water buffalo
Bubalus bubalis
African buffalo
Syncerus caffer
Impala
Aepyceros melampus
Muskox
Ovibos moschatus
Chamois
Rupicapra rupicapra
Aurochs
Bos primigenius
CompareAddax vs Water buffaloAddax vs African buffaloAddax vs ImpalaAddax vs Muskox
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the addax?
The addax is a mammal in the family Bovidae and the order Artiodactyla. It belongs to the subfamily Antilopinae and the tribe Hippotragini.
How heavy is an addax?
An adult Addax has a representative body mass of 70 kg, with reported values from 60 to 125 kg.
What does the addax eat?
The addax is a herbivore.
Is the addax endangered?
Yes. The addax is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does an addax live?
The addax has a lifespan of 25.7 years, with values up to 28.2 years reported.
How many young does an addax have?
The addax has 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year, after a gestation period of 276 days.
Who named the addax?
The scientific name Addax nasomaculatus carries the authority (Blainville, 1816).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Addax (Addax nasomaculatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/addax
“Addax (Addax nasomaculatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/addax.
@misc{addax_2026,
title = {Addax (Addax nasomaculatus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/addax},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}