A gazelle is an antelope. Antelope is a broad and rather informal grouping covering many hoofed African and Asian species that are not cattle, sheep, goats or deer. Gazelles are the smaller, swifter members of it, mostly in the genus Gazella.
The core difference
A loose category and one well-defined group inside it.
- antelope — a catch-all for many bovid species: gazelles, impala, kudu, eland, wildebeest, oryx.
- gazelle — the smaller, swift-running kinds, chiefly the genus Gazella.
Why antelope is not a real taxonomic group
It is a grouping of convenience. The species called antelopes do not form a single branch — some are more closely related to cattle than to each other. Biologists therefore treat antelope as a useful informal label rather than a classification, which is why it resists a tidy definition.
The pronghorn exception
The North American pronghorn is often called an antelope and is not one — it is the sole survivor of a separate family, and its resemblance to African antelopes is convergent.
Frequently asked questions
Is a gazelle an antelope?
Yes — one of the smaller, faster kinds.
Is antelope a scientific group?
No. It is an informal grouping; the species it covers do not form a single branch of the family tree.
Is the pronghorn an antelope?
No, despite the name. It belongs to a separate family and resembles antelopes only through convergent evolution.