# Saola (*Pseudoryx nghetinhensis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/saola  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Bovini, within the order Artiodactyla. It is a large, terrestrial herbivore with a representative adult body mass of 97.84 kg and a cathemeral activity pattern. The saola reaches sexual maturity at 755.1 days (2.1 years) and is listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered, an IUCN threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 97.8 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Age at maturity | 2.07 years |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Critically Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Bovidae
- genus: Pseudoryx
- species: *Pseudoryx nghetinhensis* Dung, Giao, Chinh, Tuoc, Arctander & MacKinnon, 1993

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the saola?

The saola is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Bovini, within the order Artiodactyla.

### How heavy is the saola?

The saola has a representative adult body mass of 97.84 kg, which places it in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).

### What does the saola eat?

The saola is a herbivore.

### Is the saola endangered?

Yes. The saola is listed on the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered (CR), an IUCN threatened category.

### When does the saola reach sexual maturity?

The saola reaches sexual maturity at 755.1 days, or 2.1 years.

### Who named the saola?

The saola was named Pseudoryx nghetinhensis by Dung, Giao, Chinh, Tuoc, Arctander & MacKinnon, 1993.

### What other names does the saola have?

The saola is also called Siola, Nilgai, Vu Quang ox, Spindlehorn and Asian unicorn.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/saola