File:Pronghorn Antelope, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah (34852221953).jpg

The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the American antelope, prong buck, pronghorn antelope, prairie antelope, or simply antelope because it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and fills a similar ecological niche due to parallel evolution.

It is the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae. During the Pleistocene epoch, about 12 antilocaprid species existed in North America.

As a member of the superfamily Giraffoidea, the pronghorn's closest living relatives are the giraffes and okapi. The Giraffoidea are in turn members of the infraorder Pecora, making pronghorns more distant relatives of the Cervidae (deer) and Bovidae (cattle, goats, sheep, antelopes, and gazelles), among others.

Pronghorns have distinct white fur on their rumps, sides, breasts, bellies, and across their throats. Adult males are 1.3–1.5 m (4 ft 3 in–4 ft 11 in) long from nose to tail, stand 81–104 cm (32–41 in) high at the shoulder, and weigh 40–65 kg (88–143 lb). The females are the same height as males, but weigh 34–48 kg (75–106 lb). The feet have two hooves, with no dewclaws. Their body temperature is 38 °C (100 °F).

The pronghorn is the fastest land mammal in the Western Hemisphere, being built for maximum predator evasion through running. The top speed is very hard to measure accurately and varies between individuals; it can run 35 mph for 4 mi (56 km/h for 6 km), 42 mph for 1 mi (67 km/h for 1.6 km), and 55 mph for 0.5 mi (88.5 km/h for 0.8 km).

Pronghorns were brought to scientific notice by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which found them in what is now South Dakota. Their range extends from southern Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada south through the United States (southwestern Minnesota and central Texas west to coastal southern California) and northern Baja California Sur, to Sonora and San Luis Potosí in northern Mexico.

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