Lesser kudu kudu and nyala form a clade, and collectively separated from the sister clade 13.8 million years ago. The lesser kudu has 38 diploid chromosomes. However, unlike others in the subfamily Tragelaphinae, the X chromosome and Y chromosome are compound and each is fused with one of two identical autosomes. The lesser kudu is a spiral-horned antelope. The head-and-body length is typically between . Males reach about at the shoulder, while females reach . Males typically weigh and females . The bushy tail is long, white underneath and with a black tip at the end. Distinct signs of sexual dimorphism are
Greater kudu different subspecies, "Strepsiceros strepsiceros" (Cape kudu), "Strepsiceros chora" (northern kudu), "Strepsiceros cottoni" (western kudu), and "Strepsiceros zambesiensis" (Zambezi kudu) which is not commonly accepted even as a subspecies. The Cape kudu is found in south central South Africa, the Zambezi kudu (closely related to the Cape kudu) is found from northern to southern Tanzania and northern South Africa, Namibia, and Angola through Zambia, Mozambique, and eastern DR Congo, the northern kudu is found in eastern Sudan southwards through Ethiopia and Kenya to the Tanzanian border, and the western kudu is found in southeastern Chad, western Sudan, and in northern Central