Arabian oryx
Oryx leucoryx (Pallas, 1777)
The arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), also called the white oryx, is a mammal of the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Hippotragini. It is a large, terrestrial herbivore with a cathemeral activity pattern and an adult body mass of 87.7 kg, with values up to 121.4 kg reported.
Quick facts about the arabian oryx
The arabian oryx is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 87.7 kg – 121.4 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 20.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 23.9 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- desertsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 243 days – 304 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 18.1 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.33src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the arabian oryx
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the arabian oryx live?
Not recorded
What is the arabian oryx?
The Arabian oryx or white oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus Oryx, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private reserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980.
In 1986, the Arabian oryx was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in 2011, it was the first animal to revert to vulnerable status after previously being listed as extinct in the wild. It is listed in CITES Appendix I. In 2016, populations were estimated at 1,220 individuals in the wild, including 850 mature individuals, and 6,000–7,000 in captivity worldwide.
From the Wikipedia article “Arabian oryx” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arabian_oryx&oldid=1378638033), 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 arabian oryx endangered?
The arabian oryx is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a 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 Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.
How is the arabian oryx classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusOryx
- SpeciesOryx leucoryx (Pallas, 1777)
Synonyms Antilope leucoryx, Oryx leucorix
Other names and names in other languages (37)
- White oryxEnglish
- White oryxEnglish
- Arabiese GemsbokAfrikaans
- Al MahaArabic
- مها بيضاءArabic
- مها عربيةArabic
- مها عربية، الوضيحيArabic
- přímorožec arabskýCzech
- Arabisk oryxDanish
- Weiße OryxGerman
- Arabischer SpießbockGerman
- Weiße Oryx-AntilopeGerman
- Orix de ArabiaSpanish
- تیزشاخ عربیPersian
- غزال تیزشاخ عربیPersian
- arabiankeihäsantilooppiFinnish
- Oryx blancFrench
- Oryx d'ArabieFrench
- ראם_לבןHebrew
- ראם לבןHebrew
- RuruHindi
- Arab bejzaHungarian
- Orice d'ArabiaItalian
- アラビアオリックスJapanese
- 아라비아영양Korean
- 아라비아오릭스Korean
- LeucoryxLatin
- Baltasis oriksasLithuanian
- ArabiaoryxNorwegian Bokmål
- Arabische OryxDutch
- Oryks arabskiPolish
- Órix-da-arábiaPortuguese
- Аравийский ориксRussian
- Arabistan oriksiTurkish
- Орикс білийUkrainian
- Kemasroot
- 阿拉伯大羚羊Chinese
Relatives of the arabian oryx
Other species in the same genus Oryx.
Gemsbok
Oryx gazella
Scimitar oryx
Oryx dammah
East African oryx
Oryx beisa
Fringe-eared oryx
Oryx callotis
Galla oryx
Oryx gallarum
CompareArabian oryx vs GemsbokArabian oryx vs Scimitar oryxArabian oryx vs East African oryxArabian oryx vs Oryx beatrix
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 arabian oryx?
The arabian oryx is a mammal in the family Bovidae and the order Artiodactyla. It belongs to the genus Oryx.
How heavy is the arabian oryx?
The arabian oryx has an adult body mass of 87.7 kg, with values up to 121.4 kg reported by our sources.
What does the arabian oryx eat?
The arabian oryx is a herbivore.
Is the arabian oryx endangered?
The arabian oryx is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is an IUCN threatened category.
How long does the arabian oryx live?
The arabian oryx has a lifespan of 20.7 years, with values up to 23.9 years reported by our sources.
How many young does the arabian oryx have?
The arabian oryx has 1 young per litter and 1.33 litters per year, after a gestation period of 243 days.
When does the arabian oryx reach sexual maturity?
The arabian oryx reaches sexual maturity at 1.8 years, with reported values from 1.5 to 2.0 years.
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).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/arabian-oryx
“Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/arabian-oryx.
@misc{arabian_oryx_2026,
title = {Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/arabian-oryx},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}