THE
BOOK OF ANTELOPES.
BY
PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., PH.D., F.R.S.,
SECRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON,
AND
OLDFIELD THOMAS, F.Z.S., F.R.G.S.,
ASSISTANT IN THE ZOOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
[Illustration]
IN FOUR VOLUMES (1894–1900).
VOL. II.
LONDON:
R. H. PORTER, 7 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W.
1896–1897.
[Illustration: ALERE FLAMMAM.]
PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
CONTENTS.
VOL. II.
Page
Subfamily III. NEOTRAGINÆ 1
Genus I. OREOTRAGUS 3
40. THE KLIPSPRINGER. _Oreotragus saltator_ (Bodd.).
[Plate XXV.] 5
Genus II. OUREBIA 13
41. THE CAPE ORIBI. _Ourebia scoparia_ (Schreb.). 15
42. PETERS’S ORIBI. _O. hastata_ (Pet.). 21
43. THE GAMBIAN ORIBI. _O. nigricaudata_ (Brooke).
[Plate XXVI.] 23
44. THE ABYSSINIAN ORIBI. _O. montana_ (Cretzschm.). 25
45. HAGGARD’S ORIBI. _O. haggardi_ (Thos.). 29
Genus III. RAPHICERUS 33
46. THE GRYSBOK. _Raphicerus melanotis_ (Thunb.).
[Plate XXVII. fig. 2.] 35
47. THE STEINBOK. _R. campestris_ (Thunb.).
[Plate XXVII. fig. 1.] 41
48. NEUMANN’S STEINBOK. _R. neumanni_ (Matsch.). 47
Genus IV. NESOTRAGUS 49
49. THE ZANZIBAR ANTELOPE. _Nesotragus moschatus_, von Düb.
[Plate XXVIII.] 51
50. LIVINGSTONE’S ANTELOPE. _N. livingstonianus_, Kirk. 55
Genus V. NEOTRAGUS 59
51. THE ROYAL ANTELOPE. _Neotragus pygmæus_ (Linn.).
[Plate XXIX.] 61
Genus VI. MADOQUA 67
52. SALT’S DIK-DIK. _Madoqua saltiana_ (Blainv.).
[Plate XXX.] 69
53. SWAYNE’S DIK-DIK. _M. swaynei_, Thos. 73
54. PHILLIPS’S DIK-DIK. _M. phillipsi_, Thos.
[Plate XXXI. fig. 2.] 75
55. THE DAMARAN DIK-DIK. _M. damarensis_ (Günth.). 79
56. KIRK’S DIK-DIK. _M. kirki_ (Günth.). 83
57. GÜNTHER’S DIK-DIK. _M. guentheri_, Thos.
[Plate XXXI. fig. 1.] 89
Subfamily IV. CERVICAPEINÆ 93
Genus I. COBUS 95
58. THE COMMON WATERBUCK. _Cobus ellipsiprymnus_ (Ogilby).
[Plate XXXII.] 97
59. THE SING-SING. _C. unctuosus_ (Laurill.).
[Plate XXXIII.] 105
60. CRAWSHAY’S WATERBUCK. _C. crawshayi_, Scl.
[Plate XXXIV.] 109
61. PENRICE’S WATERBUCK. _C. penricei_, Rothsch.
[Plate XXXV.] 113
62. THE DEPASSA WATERBUCK. _C. defassa_ (Rüpp.).
[Plate XXXVI.] 115
63. MRS. GRAY’S WATERBUCK. _Cobus maria_, Gray.
[Plate XXXVII.] 121
64. THE WHITE-EARED KOB. _C. leucotis_ (Licht. et Pet.).
[Plate XXXVIII.] 127
65. THOMAS’S KOB. _C. thomasi_, Neumann. [Plate XXXIX.] 131
66. BUFFON’S KOB. _C. kob_ (Erxl.). [Plate XL.] 137
67. THE POKU. _C. vardoni_ (Livingst.). [Plate XLI.] 141
68. THE SENGA KOB. _C. senganus_, sp. n. 145
69. THE LECHEE. _C. lechee_ (Gray). [Plate XLII.] 149
Genus II. CERVICAPRA 155
70. THE REEDBUCK. _Cervicapra arundinum_ (Bodd.).
[Plate XLIII.] 157
71. THE BOHOR. _C. bohor_ (Rüpp.). 165
72. THE NAGOR. _C. redunca_ (Pall.). [Plate XLIV.] 171
73. THE ROI RHÉBOK. _C. fulvorufula_ (Afzel.). [Plate XLV.] 175
74. CHANLER’S REEDBUCK. _C. chanleri_, Rothsch. 183
Genus III. PELEA 187
75. THE VAAL RHÉBOK. _Pelea capreolus_ (Bechst.).
[Plate XLVI.] 189
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
VOL. II.
Fig. Page
23. _Ourebia scoparia_, ♂ 17
24. Skull of _Ourebia haggardi_, ♂ 30
25. Skull of _Nesotragus livingstonianus_, ♂ 57
26. Skull of _Nesotragus pygmæus_, ♂ 64
27. Skull of _Madoqua phillipsi_ 77
28. Fore part of skull of _Madoqua damarensis_, side view}
28 _a._ Upper view of snout of _M. damarensis_ }
28 _b._ Lower view of snout of _M. damarensis_ }
28 _c._ Lower view of snout of _M. saltiana_ } 80
28 _d._ Posterior mandibulary molar of _M. saltiana_ }
28 _e._ Posterior mandibulary molar of _M. damarensis_ }
29. Head of _Madoqua kirki_ 84
29 _a._ Skull of _Madoqua kirki_ (side view) 85
29 _b._ Skull of _Madoqua kirki_ (upper view) 85
30. Skull of _Madoqua guentheri_ (side view) 90
30 _a._ Skull of _Madoqua guentheri_ (from above) 90
31. Skull and horns of _Cobus crawshayi_ 110
32. Head and foot of “Nsumma Antelope” 117
33. Head of _Cobus maria_, ♂ 123
34. Head of _Cobus thomasi_, ♂ 135
35. Horns of _Cobus vardoni_.--_a._ Side view;
_b._ Front view 143
36. Head of _Cobus lechee_ 151
37. Horns of _Cervicapra arundinum_ from Nyasaland 163
38. Skull of _Cervicapra fulvorufula_ 168
39. Skull of _Cervicapra bohor_ 169
40. Head of _Cervicapra redunca_ 174
41. Horns of _Cervicapra fulvorufula_, not adult 181
42. Horns of _Cervicapra fulvorufula_, aged 181
43. Head of _Cervicapra chanleri_ 184
44. Head of Vaal Rhébok, ♂ 193
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES.
VOL. II.
SUBFAMILY III. _NEOTRAGINÆ._
_General Characters._--Size small. Muzzle either naked or
elongated and hairy. Large anteorbital glands present, opening on
the face by a small circular hole. Tail medium or short. False hoofs
present or absent.
Skull with large anteorbital fossæ and, except in _Neotragus_,
anteorbital vacuities. Frontal bones not projected backwards between
the parietals, the horns placed above the hinder part of the orbits.
Horns present only in the male; short, nearly or quite straight,
vertical or reclining backwards; ridged basally, smooth terminally.
_Range of Subfamily._ Africa.
The numerous small Antelopes belonging to this subfamily were all
included by Sir Victor Brooke in two genera, one consisting of the
Dik-diks (_Madoqua_) and the other of all the rest (called by him
“_Nanotragus_”). Bearing in mind, however, the naturalness of the
smaller groups into which “_Nanotragus_” may be divided, and the
readiness with which these groups may be recognized and defined, we
think it better to allow six genera in all, the distinguishing points
of which are shown in the following synopsis:--
A. Nose not specially elongated, its tip with a distinct naked
muffle. Crown not tufted.
_a._ Hoofs cylindrical, not pointed, the animal standing more or
less on their tips. Hairs thick and pithy like those of a
Musk-Deer. Horns vertical 1. OREOTRAGUS.
_b._ Hoofs triangular, pointed, as in other Antelopes. Hairs
normal.
_a^1._ A naked glandular spot below ear. Accessory hoofs
present. Anteorbital fossa of skull very large
2. OUREBIA.
_b^1._ No glandular spot below ear. Accessory hoofs absent
(except in _Raphicerus melanotis_).
_a^2._ Horns nearly vertical. Anteorbital fossa small.
3. RAPHICERUS.
_b^2._ Horns lying back nearly or quite to profile-line of
face. Anteorbital fossa large.
_a^3._ Horns reaching to or past back of head. Anteorbital
and nasal vacuities present 4. NESOTRAGUS.
_b^3._ Horns not nearly reaching back of head. No
anteorbital or nasal vacuities 5. NEOTRAGUS.
B. Nose elongated, its tip hairy round the nostrils. Crown tufted.
6. MADOQUA.
The recently discovered Beira Antelope of Somaliland (_Dorcotragus
megalotis_) might also be supposed to be a member of this subfamily;
but, after a careful consideration of its characters, we think it may
best be regarded as an aberrant Gazelle, and as such we therefore
propose to treat it. The undeniable resemblance that the nasal region
of its skull shows to the same part in _Madoqua_ appears, on the
whole, more likely to be due to purely adaptive modification than are
the various characters which it possesses in common with the members of
the Gazelline group.
GENUS I. OREOTRAGUS.
Type.
_Oreotragus_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. Journ. ii.
p. 212 (1834) O. SALTATOR.
_Oritragus_, =Glog.= Naturg. i. p. 154 (1841) O. SALTATOR.
Hoofs large, cylindrical, blunt, in shape and position quite different
to those of other Antelopes. The animal in life walks upon what is
normally the pointed tip of the hoofs, so that the hoof stands up
vertically, only its blunted end resting on the ground. Accessory hoofs
present. Hairs of coat thick, pithy, somewhat similar in texture to
those of the Musk-Deer. Tail a mere stump, scarcely projecting beyond
the fur.
Skull peculiarly short and broad, stoutly built. Anteorbital fossæ
large.
Horns directed nearly vertically; slightly curved forwards; their basal
third ringed.
_Distribution_. Eastern and Southern Africa, from Abyssinia
to the Cape.
Only one species is known.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XXV.
_Smit del & lith._ _Hanhart imp._
The Klipspringer.
OREOTRAGUS SALTATOR.
_Published by R·H·Porter._]
40. THE KLIPSPRINGER.
OREOTRAGUS SALTATOR (BODD.).
[PLATE XXV.]
_Antilope oreotragus_, =Zimm.= Geogr. Gesch. iii. p. 269 (1783);
=Schreb.= Säug. pl. cclix. (1785); =Gmel.= Linn. S. N. i. p.
189 (1788); =Kerr=, Linn. An. K. p. 316 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool.
Beitr. i. p. 637 (1792); =Link=, Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795);
=Bechst.= Allgem. Uebers. vierf. Thiere, i. p. 74 (1799), ii. p.
642 (1800); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 321 (1801); =Turt.=
Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 114 (1802); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (1)
xvi. p. 328 (1803); =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 233 (1804);
=Tiedem.= Zool. i. p. 408 (1808); =Thunb.= Mém. Ac. Pétersb.
iii. p. 311 (1811) (Table Mt.); =Afzel.= N. Act. Ups. vii. p.
219 (1815); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 191 (1816);
=Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1228 (1818); =Schinz=, Cuv. Thierr.
i. p. 392 (1821); =Desm.= Mamm. ii. p. 460 (1822); =id.= Dict.
Class, i. p. 445 (1822); =Burch.= List Mamm. pres. to B. M. p.
6 (1825) (Orange Free State); =Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. xv. (♂
♀) (1828); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 466 (1829); =Rüpp.= N.
Wirb. Abyss., Mamm. p. 25 (1835); =Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p.
291 (1836); =Waterh.= Cat. Mamm. Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 42 (1838);
=Oken=, Allg. Nat. vii. p. 1363 (1838); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat.
Suppl. i. p. 262 (1840); =Forst.= Descr. Anim. p. 382 (1844);
=Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 436 (1844), v. p. 412 (1855);
=Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 410 (1845); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 318
(1854).
_Antilope_ (_Gazella_) _oreotragus_, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund.
vi. p. 175 (1814).
_Cemas oreotragus_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. iii. part 2, p. 743
(1816).
_Cerophorus_ (_Cervicapra_) _oreotragus_, Blainv. Bull. Soc.
Philom. 1816, p. 75.
_Antilope_ (_Tragulus_) _oreotragus_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv.
p. 245, v. p. 340 (1827); =Smuts=, Enum. Mamm. Cap. p. 79 (1832).
_Antilope_ (_Ourebia_) _oreotragus_, =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H.
N. i. p. 622 (1839).
_Tragelaphus oreotragus_, =Rüpp.= Verz. Senck. Mus. p. 37
(1842).
_Calotragus oreotragus_, =Rüpp.= in Wagn. Schr. Säug. Suppl. v.
p. 414 (1855).
_Nanotragus oreotragus_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 642;
=Buckley=, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 283 (distribution); =Selous=, P.
Z. S. 1881, p. 762; =id.= Hunter’s Wanderings S. Afr. p. 222
(1881); =W. Scl.= Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 167 (1891);
=Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 329 (1891); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p.
219 (1893).
_Oreotragus oreotragus_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus.
Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 131 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op.
cit. xi.) p. 160 (1892); =Matschie=, Thierw. Ost-Afr. Säugeth.
p. 122 (1895).
_Antilope saltatrix_, =Bodd.= Elench. p. 141 (1785); =Link=,
Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795); =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 377 (1827);
=id.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 177 (1842); =Des Murs & Prévost=,
Lefebvre’s Voy. Abyss, vi., Zool. p. 32, pl. iv. (animal);
=Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 33.
_Oreotragus saltatrix_, =Jard.= Nat. Libr. (1) Mamm. vii. p.
221, pl. xxx. (1842); =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 232
(1846); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 8 (1850); =id.= P. Z. S. 1850, p.
119; =id.= Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p. 137 (1851); =id.= Cat.
Ung. B. M. p. 74 (1852); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 235
(1862); =Blyth=, Cat. Mamm. As. Soc. p. 167 (1863); =Heugl.=
Ant. u. Büff. N.O.-Afr. (N. Act. Leop. xxx. pt. 2) p. 9 (1863);
=Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 170 (1869); =Blanf.= Zool.
Abyss, p. 265 (1870) (Senafé); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 20
(1872); =id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 90 (1873); =Drumm.= Large
Game S. Afr. pp. 396, 425 (1875) (Drakenberg Range); =Heugl.=
Reise N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 104 (1877); =Brehm=, Thierl. iii. p. 262
(1880); =Gigl.= Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) vi. p. 18 (1888) (Shoa);
=Bryden=, Kloof and Karroo, p. 300 (1889); =Hoyos=, Zu den
Aulihan, p. 186 (1895).
_Oreotragus saltator_, =Kirk=, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 657 (Shiré R.);
=Crawshay=, P. Z. S. 1890, p. 653 (Nyasa); =Thos.= P. Z. S.
1891, p. 211 (Somali), 1892, p. 553 (Nyasa); =Nicolls & Egl.=
Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 26, pl. v. fig. 18 (head) (1892); =Swayne=,
P. Z. S. 1892, p. 308 (Somaliland); =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1894, p.
145 (Mt. Milanji); =Jackson=, Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. pp.
285, 309 (1894); =Rendall=, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 361.
_Calotragus saltatrix_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 191 (1853).
_Antilope klippspringer_, =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) xii. p.
390 (1804), xxiv. Tabl. p. 32 (1804).
_Oreotragus typicus_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. J. ii. p. 212
(1834).
_Calotragus saltatrixoides_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 191
(1853) (no description); =Rüpp.= in Wagn. Schr. Säug. Suppl. v.
p. 414 (1855) (Abyssinia).
_Antilope saltatrixoides_, =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. v. p. 412
(1855).
_Oreotragus saltatrixoides_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p.
170 (1869).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Klipspringer_ or _Klipbok_ of Dutch
and English Colonists; _Ee-go-go_ of Matabili; _Mgululu_
of Makalakas; _Gereree_ of Batongas; _Kululu_ of Masaras
(_Selous_); _Ikoko_ of Kaffirs (_Drummond_) and of Swazis
(_Rendall_); _Kainsi_ of Hottentots (_Thunberg_); _Chinkoma_ in
Nyasa (_Crawshay_); _Sasa_ in Amharic; _Embiraqua_ in Tigré;
_Quobtu_ at Massowa (_Heuglin_); _Alikut_ of Somalia (_Hoyos_).
Height about 20–22 inches. Fur long and of very peculiar texture, each
hair being thick, flattened, wavy, and, in fact, quite unlike the hair
of any other Antelope, but more similar to that of the Musk-Deer. The
general colour is a curious mixture of brown and greenish yellow, each
hair being whitish for three-quarters of its length, then brown, and
tipped with greenish yellow. Specimens vary very much in the vividness
and tone of the yellow, which, especially in old males, is often
exceedingly bright, and even verging on orange, particularly along the
flanks. Of geographical variation we have as yet failed to find any
evidence. Chin white; throat grizzled brownish yellow; belly whitish.
Back of ears grey, their edges black. Front and outer sides of limbs
like back, inner sides white. Toes just above hoofs black. False hoofs
large. Tail short and stumpy, coloured like the body.
Skull short and broad; basal length in an adult male 4.4 inches,
greatest breadth 3.15, muzzle to orbit 2.4.
Horns attaining a length of 3½ or 4 inches.
_Hab._ South and East Africa, north to Abyssinia, in
mountainous and rocky districts.
The Klipspringer, as this little Antelope is universally called,
although first made known to us by the Dutch settlers at the Cape, is
also found in suitable localities throughout Eastern Africa as far
north as Abyssinia. It derives its appropriate name of “Cliff-springer”
or “Rock-jumper” from its habits of jumping about amongst the rocky
eminences of the hills in which it is usually met with. Amongst the
early authorities on natural history usually quoted Buffon appears to
be the first to have given a description and figure of this Antelope.
In the Supplement to his ‘Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Quadrupèdes,’
published in 1782, he calls it the “Klipspringer ou Sauteur des
Rochers,” and figures it from a drawing communicated to him by the
Forsters, in whose days (1772–74) the Klipspringer was to be met with
on the rocks of Vals Bay in the immediate vicinity of Cape Town. On
Buffon’s Klipspringer Zimmermann founded his _Antilope oreotragus_
in 1783, and Boddaert his _Antilope saltatrix_ in 1785. As we use
_Oreotragus_ for the generic name we will adopt _saltator_,
the masculine form of _saltatrix_, as the specific appellation of
this Antelope.
Harris, in his well-known ‘Portraits of the Game Animals of South
Africa,’ gives us a picture of the Klipspringer on the same plate as
that of the Mountain Zebra (_Equus zebra_), which in his time was
still found in the high mountains of the Cape Colony, and supplies the
following particulars:--
“During the pursuit of the Zebra, which was confined to the most steep
and elevated parts of this rugged range, I repeatedly fell in with and
killed the Klipspringer. Once extremely abundant in the Cape Colony, it
is now daily becoming more rare--the venison being deservedly reputed
among the first that the country affords, whilst the elastic hair is
sought above all other materials for the stuffing of saddles. Long,
padded, and standing out vertically from the side, it resembles moss
in texture, and constitutes, as in the chamois of the Alps, a natural
cushion to protect the animal from the contusions to which its habits
must render it constantly liable. No antelope possesses more completely
the lively gambolling manners of the young kid--none bound with greater
force or precision from rock to rock, or clear the yawning abyss
with more fearless activity. Found usually in pairs among the most
precipitous rocks, and inaccessible summits, the Klipspringer would
appear in Southern Africa to supply the place of the ibex and chamois;
and such is the rigidity of its stiff pasterns, and the singular
formation of the high cylindrical hoof, that even when at speed there
is no track left but by the tips of the toes, whereas every other class
of ruminant would leave, under similar circumstances, some traces also
of the spurious hoofs. The most trifling obliquity or ruggedness of
surface thus affording a secure foothold, the little animal, ‘whose
house is on the hill-top,’ entertains a sense of self-security which
oftentimes proves its ruin. Looking down from some craggy pinnacle, as
if in derision of the vain efforts of its pursuer, it presents to the
rifle the fairest of targets; and tumbled headlong from its elevated
perch, pays the penalty of its rashness. Missed, it bounds from ledge
to ledge, on which the human eye can mark no footing--balancing at
one moment upon the giddy verge of a precipice where barely sufficient
space exists for the hoof to rest--at the next casting itself
recklessly into the bottomless chasm, and pitching, as if by miracle,
upon some projecting peak, where all four feet appear to be gathered
into the space of one. Another spring, and, clear of the intervening
gulf, it is nimbly scaling yon perpendicular barrier, that resembles
the wall of a lofty citadel--and now it is sweeping securely away over
the naked and polished tablets of granite which pave the summits of
those elevated regions.”
Modern authorities on the Mammals of South Africa inform us that the
Klipspringer, although not met with in the immediate vicinity of
Cape Town, is still fairly common in certain districts of the broken
and mountainous interior. In the hills about Kanya and Molopolole
and in Bechuanaland, Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington tell us it is
plentiful. The same is the case in the Zoutspansberg, Waterberg, and
Murchison Ranges, in the Transvaal, and throughout the broken portions
of Matabeleland. Mr. Selous speaks of it as being “particularly
plentiful in the curious detached stony hills of Matabeleland and
Mashonaland.” In Natal Mr. W. H. Drummond tells us that he only found
the Klipspringer on the Drachensberg Range, and, beyond the limits of
the colony, on the precipitous faces of the Bombo Mountains.
Mr. Selous did not meet with this Antelope north of the Zambesi, but
we have excellent authorities for its existence far beyond that limit.
Peters, in his ‘Reise nach Mossambique,’ has recorded its occurrence on
the Caruera Mountains near Tette. Sir John Kirk found it “singly or in
pairs near the Kebrabassa Rapids of the Zambesi and on the Murchison
Rapids of the Shiré;” and Mr. Whyte has sent us specimens from Mount
Milanji, in Nyasaland, where it is found in pairs among rocks and on
the higher ridges. It is also met with on Mount Zomba.
On Lake Nyasa Mr. Crawshay tells us that the Klipspringer is known as
the “Chinkoma,” and is common in rough mountainous country. He praises
its venison as “excellent,” and says that the skins are much prized by
the hill-tribes of Nyasaland, who convert them into bags for carrying
bread. Passing further northwards into German East Africa, we find this
Antelope recorded as found in various mountainous localities. Böhm
met with it on the Venusberg in Ugunda and Böhmer near Mpapwe, while
Stühlmann and Emin Pasha obtained specimens at Bussissi on the Victoria
Nyanza. Herr Oscar Neumann found the Klipspringer near the top of Mount
Gurui in Irangi (see ‘Geographical Journal,’ vi. p. 275). Even the
extreme summit of this extinct volcano is clothed with a vegetation of
alpine flowers and short grass which supplies it with subsistence. In
British East Africa, Mr. Jackson informs us, the Klipspringer is met
with only in the rocky broken ground on the slopes of the hills and
large “earth-boils” between Teita and Turkqueh, where there is no other
game to be found.
In Somaliland, Captain Swayne tells us, the Klipspringer is known
to the natives as the “Alakud.” Here they live in the most rugged
mountains, “poising themselves on the large boulders, and leaping from
rock to rock.” Finally, in Abyssinia we come to the most northern
limit of this Antelope. The great explorer Rüppell was the first to
meet with it in the rocky mountains of this country, and states that
his specimens were undoubtedly identical with the Cape form, although
attempts were subsequently made to separate the Abyssinian form under
the barbarous name _Antilope saltatrixoides_. Heuglin also records
the existence of the Klipspringer in the mountains of Abyssinia at
elevations above 3000 feet. Mr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., who accompanied
the Abyssinian Expedition of 1867–68, gives us the following
particulars of this species:--“The Klipspringer is common on the more
rocky of the Abyssinian hills, from a height of about 3000 feet above
the sea, or rather less, to 8000 or 9000. In the pass below Senafé, and
in that leading from Ain to the Anseba, by the valley of the Lebka,
these little Antelopes were frequently seen, and they were common on
some of the rocky precipices on the flanks of the great valleys around
Senafé, Guna-Guna, Fokada, &c., usually solitary or in pairs. When
alarmed they frequently perch on the very highest rocks, their agility
in leaping from crag to crag being remarkable.”
In the Cape Colony it is said that the Klipspringer, when taken young,
is easily tamed and makes a most sagacious pet; but it does not appear
to live long in captivity, and Mr. Bryden tells us that they are most
difficult and troublesome to rear. We are not aware that specimens of
this Antelope have ever been brought alive to Europe.
Our illustration of this species (Plate XXV.) has been taken by Mr.
Smit from specimens in the British Museum. It represents an adult male
in the foreground and a male and female together in the distance.
Besides two mounted specimens from the Cape, the British Museum
contains three skins and skulls of this Antelope from Mounts Milanji
and Zomba in Nyasaland (_Whyte_), an immature skull from
Somaliland (_Swayne_), and some skins and skulls from Abyssinia.
_December, 1895._
GENUS II. OUREBIA.
Type.
_Ourebia_, =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i.
p. 622 (1839) O. SCOPARIA.
_Scopophorus_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1)
xviii. p. 232 (1846) O. SCOPARIA.
Size largest of the subfamily. Hoofs normal, triangular, pointed, the
animal standing, as is usual, on the flattened lower side of the hoof,
with the point directed forwards. Accessory hoofs present. A naked
glandular patch below each ear, and tufts on the knees, present in all
the species. Tail short, generally tufted with black.
Anteorbital fossæ of skull very large, their edges sharply ridged above
and below. Anteorbital vacuities small. Nasal bones long.
Horns about three-quarters the length of the skull, slanting backwards,
slightly or heavily ridged basally, smooth at the tip, but the
different species vary considerably in the amount of ridging on the
horns.
_Distribution._ Africa south of the Atlas.
The members of this genus are remarkably uniform in character, and
there are scarcely any characters of importance to distinguish from
each other species so widely distant geographically as the Oribis of
the Gambia, Abyssinia, Zambesia, and the Cape.
The following are the groups into which they seem best to fall:--
A. Horns comparatively slender and smooth, their basal two inches
only slightly ridged.
_a._ Tail markedly black, tufted.
_a^1._ S. African 41. _O. scoparia_.
_b^1._ Zambesian 42. _O. hastata_.
_c^1._ Gambian 43. _O. nigricaudata_.
_b._ Tail scarcely black-tipped.--Abyssinian. 44. _O. montana_.
B. Horns thicker, heavily ridged for more than half their length.
45. _O. haggardi_.
41. THE CAPE ORIBI.
OUREBIA SCOPARIA (SCHREB.).
_Antilope ourebi_, =Zimm.= Geogr. Gesch. iii. p. 268 (1783);
=Shaw=, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 320 (1801); =Huet=, Bull. Soc.
Acclim. 1887, p. 89.
_Scopophorus ourebi_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 232
(1846); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 7 (1850); =id.= P. Z. S. 1850, p.
118; =id.= Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p. 136 (1851); =id.= Cat.
Ung. B. M. p. 73 (1852); =Gm.= Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 235
(1862); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 165 (1869); =Gray=,
Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 19 (1872); =id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 90
(1873).
_Calotragus oureby_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 191 (1853).
_Antilope scoparia_, =Schreb.= Säug. pl. cclxi. (animal) (1785);
=Afz.= N. Act. Ups. vii. p. 220 (1815); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N.
(2) ii. p. 194 (1816); =id.= Mamm. ii. p. 464 (1822); =Desmoul.=
Dict. Class, i. p. 446 (1822); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1244
(1824); =Burch.= List Quadr. pres. to B. M. p. 7 (1825); =H.
Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 244, v. p. 339 (1827); =Less.= Man.
Mamm. p. 379 (1827); =Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. xiii. (♂ & ♀)
(1828); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 469 (1829); =Smuts=, En.
Mamm. Cap. p. 78 (1832); =Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p. 290 (1836);
=Oken=, Allg. Nat. vii. p. 1362 (1838); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat.
Suppl. i. p. 262 (1840); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 177
(1842); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 429 (1844), v. p. 411
(1855); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 414 (1845); =Gieb.= Säug. p.
316 (1854).
_Antilope_ (_Ourebia_) _scoparia_, =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H.
N. i. p. 623 (1839).
_Redunca scoparia_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. Journ. ii. p. 211
(1834).
_Oreotragus scoparius_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 164 (1843);
=id.= List Ost. B. M. p. 146 (1847); =Drumm.= Large Game S. Afr.
p. 426 (1875).
_Calotragus scoparius_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1844,
p. 192 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr.
ii. p. 144, Reprint, p. 68 (1848); =Brehm=, Thierl. iii. p. 260
(1880).
_Nanotragus scoparius_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 642;
=Selous=, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 761; =id.= Hunt. Wand. S. Afr. p.
221 (1881); =Bryden=, Kloof and Karroo, p. 301 (1889); =Flow.
& Lyd.= Mamm. p. 339 (1891); =Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsm. S. Afr.
p. 25, pl. v. fig. 15 (head) (1892); =Ward=, Horn Meas. p. 81
(1892); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 218 (1893).
_Scopophorus scoparius_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus.
Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 131 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op.
cit xi.) p. 160 (1892).
_Neotragus scoparius_, =Rendall=, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 361.
_Antilope melanura_, =Bechst.= Allgem. Uebers. vierf. Thiere, i.
p. 73 (1799), ii. p. 642 (1800).
_Cemas melanura_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. iii. pt. 2, p. 743 (1816).
_Scopophorus ourebi grayi_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 165
(1869).
_Vernacular Names_:--_Oribi_ of Dutch and English Cape
Colonists; _Iula_ of Kaffirs (_Drummond_) and Zulus (_Rendall_).
Size comparatively large. General colour bright sandy rufous, of
underside pure sharply-defined white. Chin white. Throat and outer
side of limbs like back. Above the anterior corner of each eye a white
stripe, ending over the middle of the eye. Crown with or without a
brown patch or horseshoe-shaped mark, which is very variable in its
development. Auricular gland small, indistinct, scarcely more than half
an inch in diameter. Knees with well-marked tufts of longer hairs.
Small but distinct false hoofs present both on fore and hind feet. Tail
with its tuft about four or five inches in length, its basal third
sandy rufous like the back, the remainder thickly tufted, black.
Skull with a long slender muzzle. Supraorbital vacuities present.
Premaxillæ not reaching the nasals. Anteorbital fossæ very large and
open, filling up all the space in front of the orbits, their edges
sharply ridged above and below.
Horns about four inches in length, slender, evenly tapering, slanting
back at an angle of about 45° to the general line of the skull; very
slightly curved upwards and forwards; their rings close together, low,
rounded, and indistinct, present on the basal halves of the horns only.
Dimensions:--♂. Height at withers 24 inches, hind foot 11, ear 3·7.
Skull: basal length 5·8, greatest breadth 2·9, muzzle to orbit 3·65.
_Hab._ S. Africa south of the Zambesi.
As in the case of the Klipspringer, this little Antelope first became
known to naturalists in Europe through the Dutch settlers at the
Cape. They called it Ourebi, under which name it appears to have
been first described and figured in Holland by Allamand in 1776. In
1783 Zimmermann based his _Antilope ourebi_ upon Allamand’s
description, and two years later Schreber’s plate of _Antilope
scoparia_ was copied from Allamand’s figure. As it is necessary
to use _Ourebia_ as the generic designation of this Antelope we
propose to adopt “_scoparia_,” taken from the peculiar brushes
(_scopæ_) that defend its knees, as its specific name.
[Illustration: Fig. 23.
_Ourebia scoparia_, ♂.]
A better figure of this Antelope than that of Allamand was published by
Lichtenstein about the year 1828 in the third part of his ‘Darstellung
neuer oder wenig bekannter Säugethiere,’ a work which was devoted
to the representation of new and little-known mammals of the Berlin
Museum. Lichtenstein, who had himself travelled in South Africa, states
that he had met with this species in Cafferland, and that it was known
to the colonists as the “Bleekbok” or “Pale-buck,” from its light
colour, and was much valued as a game animal.
In 1861, when Mr. E. L. Layard prepared his Catalogue of the specimens
in the collection of the South African Museum at Capetown, the Oribi
was already nearly exterminated in the colony. But it still existed, he
tells us, near Alexandria and Bedford in Somerset, and in some of the
eastern divisions where large grassy plains are found. An “intelligent
Kaffir,” attached to the Museum, informed Mr. Layard that “the Oribi
when slain by the natives belongs to the chief, who presents the
fortunate hunter with a young cow in return. The skins of the Oribi are
considered in the light of regal ermine and very highly valued.”
When, however, we come to the open plains of Natal and Zululand we are
assured by Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington, in the ‘Sportsman in South
Africa,’ that the Oribi is even now very common. It also frequents
the Transvaal in fair numbers, the Orange Free State, and parts of
Matabeleland and Mashonaland. A few specimens are said to have been
obtained in Bechuanaland, but it is unknown in the Kalahari Desert, and
thence towards the west. The same observers tell us that “in speed the
Oribi is very fast, and that it dodges from side to side when it runs
in a peculiar manner with a series of leaps and rushes. It frequents
the open flats, singly or in pairs, but keeps within reasonable
distance of water.”
As regards the exact range of the Oribi in Mashonaland, Mr. F.
C. Selous, in his ‘Hunter’s Wanderings,’ gives us the following
particulars:--“North of the Limpopo, this Antelope is only to be met
with in the following districts, viz. in north-eastern Mashunaland from
the river Umzweswe to beyond the river Hanyana, in the open valleys
which occur between the forest belts near the watershed, but to the
north of the Machabe hills; on the exposed open downs nearer the
watershed, and lying between the Machabe hills and Intaba Insimbi, I
never saw any. On a large flat about fifty miles to the south of the
junction of the Umfule and Umniati rivers, I saw a good many Oribi in
1880. Except in this district of the Mashuna country, the only other
place south of the Zambesi where this Antelope exists is in the valley
of Gazuma, an open boggy flat of only a few hundred acres in extent,
which is situated at about thirty miles to the south-west of the
Victoria Falls. Then again a few are to be seen on the northern bank of
the Chobe, on the open ground bordering the marsh, in the neighbourhood
of Linyanti. One never sees more than two or three of these Antelopes
together. The horns of the male attain to a length of about 5 inches,
and are ringed at the base.”
There is a mounted pair of this species in the gallery of the British
Museum which formerly belonged to the old “South-African Museum” of
Sir Andrew Smith, besides some skins and skulls from the Cape without
exact particulars. There is also the skull of an adult male from the
Umfili River, Mashonaland, obtained by Mr. F. C. Selous, in the same
Collection.
We are not aware that the Oribi has been kept in captivity in the Cape
Colony, or ever brought alive to Europe.
_December, 1895._
42. PETERS’S ORIBI.
OUREBIA HASTATA (PET.).
_Antilope hastata_, =Peters=, Reise Mossamb., Säug. p. 188, pl.
xl. (animal), pl. xli. fig. 2, pl. xlii. fig. 2 (skull) (1852)
(Senna); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 317 (1854); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Supp.
v. p. 411 (1855); =Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 46.
_Calotragus hastata_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 191 (1853).
_Scopophorus hastatus_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 165
(1869); =Matschie=, Thierw. Ost-Afr. Säugeth. p. 121 (1895).
_Nanotragus hastatus_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 642; =Flow. &
Lyd.= Mamm. p. 339 (1891); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 219 (1893).
_Nanotragus scoparius_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1893, p. 504, 1894, p.
146 (Nyasa).
_Scopophorus montanus_, =Matschie=, Thierw. Ost-Afr. Säugeth. p.
121.
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Dutsa_ at Senna (_Peters_).
Similar in all respects to _O. scoparia_, except that the
auricular gland is considerably larger and more conspicuous, and the
tail is slenderer, less tufted, and is more or less white along its
edges below.
Skull and horns apparently quite as in _O. scoparia_.
_Hab._ Mozambique and Nyasaland.
When the late Dr. William Peters made his great expedition to the
Portuguese colony of Mozambique from 1842 to 1848 the Zoology of the
Eastern Coast of Africa was almost unknown to us. Many, therefore, were
the discoveries made by that distinguished traveller and naturalist,
and subsequently described in his ‘Naturwissenschaftliche Reise nach
Mossambique.’ Amongst them, in the volume devoted to the Mammals of the
Expedition, we find a figure and description of the present Antelope,
which was met with by Peters on the bush-clad plains of Sena and
Shupanga, situated about 17° S. lat., and from 30 to 60 miles from the
coast. Peters allows that the present form comes very near the typical
_O. scoparia_, but considers that it differs in its longer ears,
the smaller size of the naked spot beneath the ear, the white underside
of the tail, and the less compressed form of the hoofs. Peters’s
specimens are in the Berlin Museum.
More recently the British Museum has acquired several skins of an
Antelope, which should be the same, to judge from its locality, as
Peters’s _O. hastata_, among the splendid collections amassed
by Sir H. H. Johnston in Nyasaland with the aid of his naturalist
Mr. Alexander Whyte, F.Z.S. These were obtained on the grassy plains
between Zomba, where Mr. Whyte is resident, and Lake Shirwa. These
materials, however, are not yet sufficient to enable us to pronounce
a decided opinion as to whether this Oribi should be really treated
of as a species distinct from its brother of the Cape Colony. The two
forms certainly come very near one another, and we are rather doubtful
whether they can be properly distinguished.
_December, 1895._
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES. PL. XXVI.
_Wolf del. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._
The Gambian Oribi
OUREBIA NIGRICAUDATA
_Published by R. H. Porter._]
43. THE GAMBIAN ORIBI.
OUREBIA NIGRICAUDATA (BROOKE).
[PLATE XXVI.]
_Ourebi du Sénégal_, =F. Cuv.= H. N. Mamm. (fol.) iii. livr. lx.
(♀) (1829).
_Scopophorus montanus_, =Gray=, Knowsl. Men. p. 7, pl. v.
(animal) (1850) (Gambia) (nec Cretzschm.).
_Nanotragus nigricaudatus_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 874, pl.
lxxv. (animal) (Gambia); =Ward=, Horn Meas. p. 81 (1892); =Lyd.=
Horns and Hoofs, p. 219 (1893).
_Oreotragus scoparius_, =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1867, p. 1039.
_Neotragus nigricaudatus_, =Scl.= List An. Z. S. (8) p. 145
(1883).
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Gebari_ or _Mahomet’s Antelope_ on the Gambia
(_Whitfield_ fide _Gray_).
Closely allied to _O. montana_, but still smaller, and the general
colour greyer; the auricular gland as large as in _O. hastata_,
and the tail with a blackish tuft, as in _O. scoparia_. Top of
muzzle brown.
Dimensions of the typical specimen, ♂:--Height at withers 21 inches;
length of hind foot 10, of ear 3·4.
_Hab._ Open districts of the Gambia and Senegal.
It was not to be expected that any representative of the Oribi would be
found in Congoland or within the great forest-clad region of Western
Africa. But when we come to the more open country of Senegal and the
Gambia, an allied and nearly similar species appears upon the scene.
The first evidence of its existence was given by F. Cuvier in 1829 by
the publication of a figure and description of a female specimen under
the name of the “Ourebi du Sénégal,” which was brought home alive by M.
Perrotet, but died shortly after its arrival at Paris.
Again, some years later, Whitfield, one of the collectors employed
by Lord Derby, brought home from the Gambia a living example of an
Antelope, which was subsequently figured in 1845 for the ‘Knowsley
Menagerie’ by Waterhouse Hawkins. This figure was referred by Gray, who
drew up the letterpress of that splendid work, to the Abyssinian Oribi
next described, but there can be little doubt that it really belonged
to the Gambian form. Whitfield gave the native name of this Antelope on
the Gambia as “Gebari.”
In May 1867 the Zoological Society received as a present from Mr.
Charles B. Mosse a fine young male of this Oribi, which was eventually
the means of making the species better known. It was at first referred
by Sclater to the Cape Oribi, but afterwards considered to be more
probably attributable to the Abyssinian _O. montana_. In 1872,
however, when the animal was still living and quite adult, Sir Victor
Brooke, at Sclater’s invitation, took up the question, and in a
paper read before the Zoological Society, and subsequently published
in their ‘Proceedings’ for that year, showed that neither of these
determinations was correct, and that the Gambian animal belonged,
in his opinion, to an unnamed species, which he proposed to call
_Nanotragus nigricaudatus_. Although, like the two preceding
species, the Gambian Oribi has a black tail, its smaller size seems
to be sufficient to distinguish it from its congeners. Sir Victor had
a water-colour drawing made of this animal by Wolf, from which both
the figure published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’ and the
Plate now given (Plate XXVI.) have been prepared. This typical specimen
is now in the British Museum, which has likewise two other young
specimens from West Africa, without further details.
Mr. Mosse, who brought the type specimen home himself, supplied Sir
Victor with the information that he had procured it in March 1867, when
it was only two or three months old, and that it had been caught on the
banks of the Gambia about 70 or 80 miles from Bathurst, midway between
that town and Macarthey’s Island. Mr. Mosse had never met with a second
individual.
In 1873 and 1876 the Zoological Society received female specimens of
what were believed to be the same Antelope, but they did not live long
in the Gardens.
_December, 1895._
44. THE ABYSSINIAN ORIBI.
OUREBIA MONTANA (CRETZSCHM.).
_Antilope brevicaudata_, =Rüpp.= MS. (N. Wirb. p. 25, 1835).
_Antilope montana_, =Cretzschm.= Atl. Rüpp. Reise, Säug. p.
11, pl. iii. (Fazogloa Mts., Blue Nile) (1826); =J. B. Fisch.=
Syn. Mamm. p. 469 (1829); =Rüpp.= N. Wirb. Abyss., Mamm. p.
25 (1835); =id.= P. Z. S. 1836, p. 3 (occurrence of canines);
=Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p. 290 (1836); =Oken=, Allg. Nat. vii.
p. 1362 (1838); =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 623 (1839);
=Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 177 (1842); =Wagn.= Schr.
Säug., Suppl. iv. p. 431 (1844), v. p. 412 (1855); =Schinz=,
Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 421 (1845); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 316 (1854);
=Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 34.
_Redunca montana_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. Journ. ii. p. 211
(1834).
_Tragelaphus montanus_, =Rüpp.= Verz. Senck. Mus. p. 37 (1842).
_Calotragus montanus_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1844,
p. 193 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr.
ii. p. 144; Reprint, p. 68 (1848); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p.
191 (1853); =Heugl.= Ant. u. Büff. N.O.-Afr. (N. Act. Leop. xxx.
pt. 2) p. 8 (1863); =id.= Reise N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 104 (1877).
_Scopophorus montanus_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii.
p. 232 (1846); =id.= op. cit. (2) viii. p. 137 (1851); =id.=
Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 74 (1852); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1864, p. 101
(Karagweh); =Fitz.= SB. Ak. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 165 (1869);
=Blanf.= Zool. Abyss. p. 266 (1870) (Dolo, Abyssinia); =Gray=,
Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 19 (1872); =Gigl.= Ann. Mus. Genov. (2)
vi. p. 18 (1888) (Shoa); =Jent.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus.
Pays-Bas, xi.) p. 160 (1892).
_Nanotragus montanus_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, pp. 642 & 875;
=W. Scl.= Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 166 (1891); =Flow. &
Lyd.= Mamm. p. 339 (1891); =Ward=, Horn Meas. p. 82 (1892);
=Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 218 (1893); =Jackson=, Badm. Big Game
Shooting, pp. 285 & 299 (1894).
_Antilope madoqua_, =Schweinfurth=, Herz. von Afrika, i. p. 266,
fig. head, ii. p. 535 (1874) (_nec_ H. Sm., _nec_ Rüpp.).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_H’Amra_, _Atrob_, or _Odrob_ in Arabic;
_Fiego_ in Amharic; _Waital_ in Geez (_Heuglin_); _Lohdj_ in
Dinka; _Nettjäde_ in Djur; _Heggoleh_ in Bongo; _Kullah_ in
Mittu; _Bongbaljah_ in Niam-niam; _Laffa_ in Golo; _Kehdo_ in
Kredj; _Ngogoh_ in Ssehre; _Akonj_ in Shilluk (_Schweinfurth_).
Similar to _O. scoparia_ in most respects, but the tail shorter,
less bushy, and almost wholly of the colour of the back, the terminal
black tuft being reduced to a few darker hairs at the extreme tip;
there are also a considerable number of white hairs along each side of
it below. Auricular gland large, quite naked.
Skull dimensions (♂):--Basal length 5·65 inches, greatest breadth 2·95,
muzzle to orbit 3·44.
_Hab_. Abyssinia and Bongoland.
As already pointed out, the Abyssinian representative of this group
differs slightly in structure from the forms of the Oribi of which we
have previously spoken. Its specific name would also indicate that
it is an inhabitant of a higher district, although Rüppell tells us
that when he sent the original specimen from Senaar in 1823 he had
given it in his Manuscript “a far more appropriate” one. Be that as
it may, Cretzschmar, who undertook the description of the vertebrates
transmitted by Rüppell to the Museum Senckenbergianum before the return
home of the latter, chose to call it “_montana_” and this term
cannot now, of course, be altered.
The original specimen of _Ourebia montana_ was obtained by Rüppell’s
collector Hey (after whom Hey’s Partridge, _Ammoperdix heyi_, was
subsequently named by Temminck) on the hills of Fazogloa on the Blue
Nile in 1823. Rüppell afterwards found many individuals of it on the
high plains of Woggera in the neighbourhood of Gondar and in the
valleys of the Kulla, where they resort to the grassy ravines and
thorny jungles. He remarks that only the male carries horns, but that
both sexes have a pair of inguinal glands, the openings of which are
concealed by long tufts of white hair. The female has four teats. He
also remarks that (as he communicated to the Zoological Society of
London, of which Rüppell was a Foreign Member, in 1836) the young males
of this Antelope occasionally possess the germs of a pair of canine
teeth, which are lost in the adult stage. This anomaly, however, has
also been noticed in other Ruminants.
Theodor von Heuglin met with this Antelope in several districts of
Central and West Abyssinia at elevations of from 6000 to 8000 feet
above the sea-level. He remarks that it prefers the rocky and bushy
parts of the steppes, and often cries out like a Roebuck when struck
by a shot. Dr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., found this Antelope rare in the
country traversed by the Abyssinian Expedition of 1867–68. He saw it
only two or three times, near Dolo and Harkhallet, north of Antalo, at
an elevation of about 7000 feet above the sea-level, where it inhabits
bushy ground or high grass. A buck shot by Mr. Blanford was 22½ inches
high at the shoulder, the mammæ were four in number, and the suborbital
and inguinal glands were well developed. We learn from Mr. W. L.
Sclater’s ‘Catalogue,’ that one of Mr. Blanford’s skins is now in the
Indian Museum, Calcutta.
Finally Dr. Giglioli includes the Abyssinian Oribi amongst the mammals
of which specimens have been transmitted to Italy from Shoa by the
Italian naturalists Boutourline and Traversi. Dr. Giglioli observes
that the sexes were alike in colour in these specimens, but that the
male was rather larger in size than the hornless female.
The head of the “Madoqua” figured by Schweinfurth in ’Im Herzen von
Afrika’ (vol. i. p. 266) was probably taken from an example of this
Antelope. It was met with along with a species of Duiker in Bongo on
the upper waters of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, and observed in pairs among the
bushes. Its native name there is “Heggolah.”
In the British Museum there are the skull of an adult male of this
species and three skins of females from Dembelas, Abyssinia.
_December, 1895._
45. HAGGARD’S ORIBI.
OUREBIA HAGGARDI (THOS.).
_Nanotragus hastatus_, =Jackson=, Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. p.
285 (1894) (Tana R. & Lamu) (nec Peters).
_Neotragus haggardi_, =Thos.= Ann. Mag. N. H. (6) xv. p. 187
(1895) (Lamu).
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Taya_ of Swahilis (_Haggard and Jackson_).
Size as in _O. scoparia_ and _O. hastata_. Auricular gland
well developed.
Other external characters not yet positively known.
Skull with a rather shorter muzzle than in the common species. Horns
very much thicker and heavier than in any of the previous species; the
ridges strongly developed and sharply angular. Owing partly to the
development of the ridges the front edge of their lower half is convex
forwards, while the upper half is as usual concave forwards; viewed
from the side the horns therefore appear to have a slight tendency
towards the serpentine double curvature characteristic of the Gazelles,
although far less developed.
Skull dimensions (♂):--Basal length 5·6 inches, greatest breadth 2·97,
orbit to muzzle 3·4.
_Hab._ Coasts of British East Africa, near Lamu.
A fifth species of Oribi, with which as yet we are only imperfectly
acquainted, seems to be found in British East Africa and the adjoining
districts of Southern Somaliland. Its size is that of the Cape and
Zambesian species, and its auricular gland is well developed. But it
is readily distinguishable from all the other members of the group by
its thick and strongly ridged horns, which contrast markedly with the
slender and comparatively smooth horns of all the preceding species.
Thomas was originally inclined to refer the three skulls of this
Oribi which were received in 1887 from Mr. J. G. Haggard, then H.B.M.
Vice-Consul at Lamu, to Peters’s _Ourebia hastata_. When, however,
he had afterwards obtained specimens of the Oribi of Nyasaland, which
were doubtless to be referred to the form described by Peters, he
perceived his error, and proceeded to base a new species upon the
specimens in question, assigning to it the name of their collector and
donor, according to whom this Antelope is known to the Swahilis at Lamu
as “Taya.”
[Illustration: Fig. 24.
Skull of _Ourebia haggardi_, ♂.]
Mr. F. J. Jackson, in his ‘Big Game Shooting,’ gives us the following
account of the “Taya”:--