also told us that this little Antelope is very common in the Abyssinian
coast-district, ranging north to the mountains of the Beni Amer, and
westwards as far as Takeh. He says that it is more plentiful in the
bushes on the borders of the hill-district than on the plateau of
the sea-coast, and that it ascends the mountains to a height of 6000
feet. Finally, as is recorded by Dr. Giglioli, the Italian naturalists
Boutourline and Traversi, who went to Shoa in 1884, obtained specimens
of this Antelope much further south, at Assab. It is, however, quite
possible that these last-named examples may have belonged to one of the
allied species which next follow.
Salt’s Dik-dik is represented in the British Museum by a mounted
pair in the Gallery, of which the male was obtained by Rüppell and
the female by Sir William Cornwallis Harris. There are also in that
Collection skins of both sexes procured by Mr. Blanford during the
Abyssinian Expedition, and a skeleton and skull collected by Mr. Jesse
on the same occasion.
Our figure of this Antelope (Plate XXX.) was put on the stone by Mr.
Smit from a water-colour drawing by Wolf. This drawing, which was
prepared under Sir Victor Brooke’s direction, is now in Sir Douglas
Brooke’s possession.
_December, 1895._
53. SWAYNE’S DIK-DIK.
MADOQUA SWAYNEI, THOS.
_Neotragus saltianus_ (in part), =Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 307.
_Madoqua swaynei_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1894, p. 328 (Berbera);
=Hoyos=, Zu den Aulihan, p. 185 (1895); =Swayne=, Somaliland, p.
318 (1895).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Guyu_ of Somalia (_Swayne_), and, with the
other Somali _Dik-diks_, _Sakáro_ as a generic name (_Swayne_).
Similar in almost all respects to _M. saltiana_, but considerably
smaller. Back grizzled grey, with a fulvous suffusion. Sides not, or
scarcely, more rufous than back. Limbs pale rufous.
Skull like that of _M. saltiana_, but much smaller. Basal length
(male) 3·06 inches, greatest breadth 1·9, muzzle to orbit 1·6, tip of
nasals to tip of premaxillæ 1·03.
_Hab._ Northern half of Somaliland.
In Northern Somaliland the place of Salt’s Dik-dik appears to be taken
by two other forms, which were first discriminated by Thomas in an
article upon these dwarf Antelopes read before the Zoological Society
in April 1864. The present species Thomas named after the enthusiastic
naturalist and sportsman Capt. H. G. C. Swayne, R.E., who called
Thomas’s attention to its distinctness, and who first furnished the
National Collection with specimens.
Swayne’s Dik-dik is, perhaps, of somewhat doubtful position in the
genus. In colour it nearly resembles the larger Abyssinian species
_Madoqua saltiana_, but is at once distinguishable by its
smaller size. In stature it agrees more nearly with the next species,
Phillips’s Dik-dik, of which it may hereafter possibly be shown to be
a feebly coloured variety. Capt. Swayne, however, is very strongly of
opinion that, though found in the same localities, these two Antelopes
are, as is asserted by the natives, quite distinct.
The “_Sakára Guyu_,” as the Somalis call the present species, is
found, according to Capt. Swayne, in pairs in suitable localities all
over Northern Somaliland. It lives in broken ground, where there is
good cover of low mimosa-scrub, and is never seen in open grass plains,
but is specially partial to aloe undergrowth. The female exposes
herself most to view, and is consequently more often shot.
“They lie very close, and when disturbed they dart off at speed with
two or three sharp whistling alarm-notes uttered in quick succession.
This often gives the alarm to larger game.
“Three or four Sakáro may be seen together, seldom or never more.
“Young Sakáro are soon able to take care of themselves, and only when
very young can they be run down on foot by the Somalis, who often catch
them to eat. The Somalis, who are sensible in most ways, are peculiar
in that they do not eat birds, and know little about them, calling them
contemptuously ‘Shimbir,’ the Arabic for bird, but generally having
no names for the different kinds. They say birds are ‘Harain,’ or
forbidden food.
“I have seen probably eighty Sakáro in the course of a day. Their
habits are those of the hare, and they live in similar ground.
“They nibble the young shoots of the mimosa. They like to be near
water, and go to drink at midday and just after nightfall. They are
especially lively in the afternoon and evening.”
Besides Capt. Swayne’s skins there are specimens in the British Museum
obtained by Herr Menges at Gerbatir, in Northern Somaliland, which are
provisionally referred to this species, and also two examples presented
(in April 1894) by Dr. Donaldson Smith from Milmil in the interior of
that country.
We have received no further material towards elucidating this difficult
point since Thomas wrote his monograph of the genus, and must therefore
leave it for future workers to settle. In collecting skins and skulls,
sportsmen are particularly requested to mark very carefully on them
which skin belongs to each skull, as it is to the habitual neglect of
such labelling that the present impossibility of clearing the matter up
is mainly due.
_December, 1895._
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XXXI.
_Smit del. & lith._ _Hanhart imp._
Fig. 1. Günther’s Dik-dik.
MADOQUA GUENTHERI.
Fig. 2. Phillips’ Dik-dik.
MADOQUA PHILLIPSI.
_Published by R. H. Porter._]
54. PHILLIPS’S DIK-DIK.
MADOQUA PHILLIPSI, THOS.
[PLATE XXXI. FIG. 2.]
_Neotragus saltianus_, =Blyth=, J. A. S. B. xxiv. p. 297
(Berbera); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Mus. As. Soc. p. 168 (1863);
=Thos.= P. Z. S. 1891, p. 211; =Ward=, Horn Meas. p. 80 (1892);
=Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 307 (in part).
_Madoqua phillipsi_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1894, p. 327 (fig. skull)
(Dobwain, Somaliland); Hoyos, Zu den Auliban, p. 185 (1895);
=Swayne=, Somaliland, p. 318 (1895).
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Gol-Ass_ of Somalis (_Swayne_).
Size rather larger than in typical examples of _M. swaynei_. Head,
neck, and back coloured as in _M. saltiana_, except that the
rufous of the crown and back of ears is deeper and richer. Shoulders
and flanks rich bright rufous, very different from the faint rufous of
_M. saltiana_. The rufous encroaches a good deal on the chest, but
the chin and belly are as usual whitish. Limbs rich rufous.
Skull and horns as in _M. saltiana_, but smaller. Basal length
3·25 inches, greatest breadth 2·05, muzzle to orbit 1·76, tip of nasals
to tip of pre-maxillaries 1·1.
_Hab._ Northern Somaliland.
This Dik-dik was discriminated by Thomas in 1894 in the same
communication to the Zoological Society of London as that in which he
described Swayne’s Dik-dik, and was named after Mr. E. Lort Phillips,
another well-known explorer of Somaliland, who has specially devoted
himself to the study of the birds of that country[3]. Phillips’s
Dik-dik is by far the most beautiful and brightly coloured member of
the genus, as will be seen by reference to our figure (Plate XXXI. fig.
2), which has been prepared by Mr. Smit from a specimen in the British
Museum. The brilliant rufous of its sides make a fine contrast to the
grey of the neck and back.
The “Gol-Ass” or “Red-belly” of the Somalis, Capt. Swayne tells us,
is shot all over Gastan and Ogo and in parts of the Hand and Ogaden.
In the maritime plain of Berbera they appear to be very abundant,
and Capt. P. Z. Cox has lately sent to the British Museum three good
skeletons and face-skins obtained in that district in July last. Mr.
Melliss, in his recently published ‘Lion-hunting in Somali-land,’
speaks of his rencontre with the Dik-diks as follows:--
“How pleasant it was, walking through the jungle ahead of the string of
camels, gun in hand, in the delicious cool of the dawn, for the animal
world was up too. Constantly the dainty little Sand-antelopes would
spring away through the bushes at my approach. These charming little
creatures, called in Somali-land ‘Dĭk-dĭks,’ in size scarcely as big as
an English hare, are the most dainty miniatures of the Antelope race.
They are ever in pairs of male and female, are much alike, except that
the male has two tiny horns about an inch or two long, with a brown
tuft of hair between them. Their skins vary in colour from a silvery
grey to a russet-brown.”
Mr. E. Lort Phillips, after whom this Antelope is named, has kindly
supplied us with the following notes on it and its fellows of the same
genus:--“Captain Swayne, in his volume ‘Somali-land,’ has so ably
described these tiny Antelopes that little remains for me to say.
With regard, however, to the name ‘Dik-dik,’ by which they are now so
generally known, I would point out that this is not a Somali term, but
hails from the country near Suakim, where it is the native name for
the _Madoqua saltiana_. When suddenly startled, these little creatures
bound off uttering shrill whistling notes of alarm. These notes are
exactly represented by the words ‘zick-zick, zick-zick’: hence the
Arab name. I have shot specimens of four species of _Madoqua_, namely
_M. saltiana_, _M. swaynei_, _M. guentheri_, and _M. phillipsi_, and
it is interesting to note that the habits and alarm-notes of each are
identical. One curious habit which I have not seen recorded is that
they seem to like to return to the same spot for their evacuations,
their droppings forming little mounds mingled with the sand that they
scrape up all round.”
[Illustration: Fig. 27.
Skull of _Madoqua phillipsi_ (reduced).
(P. Z. S. 1894, p. 327.)]
Our figure of the skull of this species is taken from that given in
the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings,’ by the kind permission of the
Society.
Besides the two specimens in spirits from Berbera obtained by Mr. E.
Lort Phillips (one of which is the type) the British Museum contains
several skins and skulls from Capt. Swayne’s collection, two skins from
Milmil collected by Dr. Donaldson Smith, and those of Capt. Cox already
referred to.
Our figure of this species (Plate XXXI. fig. 2) has been prepared from
these specimens by Mr. Smit.
_December, 1895._
55. THE DAMARAN DIK-DIK.
MADOQUA DAMARENSIS (GÜNTH.).
? _Neotragus saltianus_, =Bocage=, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 743
(Angola).
_Neotragus damarensis_, =Günth.= P. Z. S. 1880, p. 20 (fig.
skull) (Damaraland); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 338 (1891); =Lyd.=
Horns and Hoofs, p. 215 (1893).
_Nanotragus damarensis_, =Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsm. in S. Afr. p.
56 (1892).
_Madoqua damarensis_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1894, p. 329.
_Cephalophus hemprichianus_, =Jent.= N. L. M. ix. p. 172 (1887)
(Mossamedes).
Size largest of the genus. General colour greyish on the crown and
along the centre of the back, pale rufous on the backs of the ears,
sides, and limbs. Tuft on crown mixed with black.
Skull apparently similar to that of the next species, except for its
greater size, but as we have only seen a single imperfect example, it
is possible that other differences will be found when more material is
examined. Greatest breadth of skull (c.) 2·2 inches, muzzle to front of
orbit 2·23, to back of orbit 3·4.
_Hab._ Damaraland, and probably Southern Angola.
In South-western Africa the Dik-diks are represented by a somewhat
similar species of rather larger size, of which, however, we as yet
know very little. In fact the typical specimen in the British Museum
and two others in the South-African Museum, Capetown, are the only
authentic examples of this species yet received, though it is probable
that specimens in the Lisbon and Leyden Museums may be likewise
referable to it.
[Illustration: Fig. 28.
Fore part of skull of _Madoqua damarensis_; side view (reduced).
(P. Z. S. 1880, p. 21.)]
[Illustration:
Fig. 28 _a_. Upper view of snout of _M. damarensis_.
Fig. 28 _b_. Lower view of snout of _M. damarensis_.
Fig. 28 _c_. Lower view of snout of _M. saltiana_.
(P. Z. S. 1880, p. 21.)]
[Illustration:
Fig. 28 _d_. Posterior mandibulary molar of _M. saltiana_.
Fig. 28 _e_. Posterior mandibulary molar of _M. damarensis_.
(P. Z. S. 1880, p. 22.)]
In 1879 Sclater received from Mr. Roland Trimen, F.R.S., then Curator
of the South-African Museum, Capetown, a female specimen of a Dik-dik
which had been obtained by Mr. Eriksson in Damaraland, and handed
it over to Dr. Günther for determination. Dr. Günther described it,
at a meeting of the Zoological Society of London in January 1880, as
belonging to a new species, which he proposed to call “_damarensis_”
after its locality. Dr. Günther pointed out that externally the new
species resembled the Abyssinian _M. saltiana_ very nearly, but was
unmistakably different in cranial characters, which he described as
follows:--“As in _M. saltiana_, the intermaxillary and lacrymal bones
form a suture together. But the lateral branches of the intermaxillary
are much narrower than in that species, and altogether of the same
shape as in _M. kirki_; and the entire prelacrymal part of the snout
is narrower than in _M. saltiana_, which is especially striking in the
lower view of the snout (figs. 28 _b_ and 28 _c_). Also with regard to
the form and size of the nasal bones the new species is in some measure
intermediate between the two other species. The suture, by which the
nasals are united with the frontals, forms a much more obtuse angle
than in _M. saltiana_, but is not a straight transverse line as in
_M. kirki_. The size of these bones is the same as in the Abyssinian
species. The hindermost molar of the lower jaw has a third lobe
developed behind with a single enamel fold as in _M. kirki_. The nasal
cavity seems to be as distensible as in the Abyssinian species.”
Mr. Trimen furnished Sclater with the following information respecting
this specimen:--
“It was sent to me in March last from Damaraland by Mr. Eriksson, who
has lately presented to us a male specimen. The Museum previously
possessed a young male, also a Damaraland specimen, presented by the
late Mr. James Chapman.... The colouring of the male and female is
the same; but the adult male has straight horns 2¾ inches long, with
prominent irregular ridges (seven in one example) circling their basal
half. In the young male that we have the horns are 1 inch shorter, and
there are only three undeveloped ridges.
“Mr. Eriksson informs me that this Antelope frequents rocky hills in
the vicinity of Omaruru (about a degree north of Walvisch Bay), but is
not easily procured, owing to its great agility among its stony haunts.”
Judging from the localities it would appear highly probable that the
Dik-diks obtained on the River Cunene by the well-known Portugese
collector d’Anchieta, and referred by M. Barboza du Bocage to _M.
saltiana_, as also the skull in the Leyden Museum procured in
Mossamedes by Mr. P. J. Van der Kellen, and assigned by Dr. Jentink
in 1887 to “_Cephalophus hemprichianus_” will be found to belong to
_Madoqua damarensis_, and that this species extends into the southern
provinces of Angola, where the country is of the same character as in
Damaraland.
_December, 1895._
56. KIRK’S DIK-DIK.
MADOQUA KIRKI (GÜNTH.).
_Neotragus kirkii_, =Günth.= P. Z. S. 1880, p. 17 (fig. head
& skull) (Brava, S. Somaliland); =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1885, p.
222 (Kilima-njaro); =Johnston=, Kilima-njaro, p. 355 (1886);
=Hunter=, in Willoughby’s E. Africa, p. 290 (1889); =W. Scl.=
Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 166 (1891); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p.
338 (1891); =Ward=, Horn Meas. p. 79 (1892); =Lyd.= Horns and
Hoofs, p. 215 (1893); =Jackson=, Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. pp.
285, 310 (1894); =Matschie=, Ost-Afr. Säugeth. p. 118 (1895).
_Neotragus damarensis_, =True=, P. U. S. Nat. Mus. xv. p. 477,
pl. lxxx. (skull) (1892).
_Madoqua kirkii_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1894, p. 328.
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Paa_ of Swahilis (_Jackson and others_).--In
common with _Raphicerus campestris_ and _Neotragus moschatus_.
Size medium. Proboscis more developed than in group A. General colour
coarsely grizzled greyish fawn, more or less suffused with fulvous on
the back, and with rufous on the sides and neck. Limbs rufous, but of
very variable intensity.
Skull with the modification due to the development of a proboscis
much more striking than in the first section of the genus, although
not carried to such an extreme as in _M. guentheri_. Premaxillæ
slender, their upper edge forming an =S=-shaped curve; their
ascending process sometimes ending just above the anterior tooth,
and sometimes rising nearly or quite to meet the nasals. Nasals very
short. Last lower molar with the usual third lobe characteristic of
all other ruminants but those of the _M. saltiana_ group. Even
here, however, the lobe is very small. Dimensions of a good male
example:--Basal length 3·7 inches, greatest breadth 1·95, muzzle to
orbit 2·03, muzzle to tip of nasals 1·25.
Horns thick, strongly ridged below, seldom exceeding 2½ or 2¾ inches in
length.
_Hab._ E. Africa from Southern Somaliland to Ugogo.
This Dik-dik was likewise first described by Dr. Günther in 1880
from specimens transmitted to the British Museum by Sir John Kirk,
who procured them near Brava, on the coast of Southern Somaliland.
Dr. Günther drew special attention to the peculiar form of the
elongated muzzle in this species. This feature, as will be seen by the
illustration (fig. 29), which we are able to reproduce by his leave and
that of the Zoological Society, is a prominent character in _Madoqua
kirki_, as in the preceding and following species.
[Illustration: Fig. 29.
Head of _Madoqua kirki_
(P. Z. S. 1880, p. 17.)]
The conformation of the skull of this species, as has been pointed out
by us above, and previously much commented upon by Dr. Günther, is
another noteworthy peculiarity. It is shown in the two illustrations
(figs. 29 _a_ and 29 _b_), for the use of which we are likewise
indebted to the Zoological Society and Dr. Günther.
[Illustration: Fig. 29 _a_.
Skull of _Madoqua kirki_ (side view).
(P.Z.S. 1880, p. 19.)]
[Illustration: Fig. 29 _b_.
Skull of _Madoqua kirki_ (upper view).
(P.Z.S. 1880, p. 20.)]
Further south on the east coast of Africa this Dik-dik has been
obtained near Lamu by Consul Haggard and on the island of Manda, in
the same district, by Sir John Kirk, both of whom have contributed
specimens of it from this quarter to the National Collection. But south
of the Sabaki River _M. kirki_ appears to desert the coast, and
to extend into the interior to the Kilimanjaro district. Sir H. H.
Johnston, the first scientific explorer of Kilimanjaro, met with this
Dik-dik at a high altitude on that mountain, and in his ‘Kilimanjaro
Expedition’ (p. 355) has given us a characteristic drawing of its head.
A subsequent explorer of Kilimanjaro, Dr. W. L. Abbott, obtained four
specimens of this Antelope near Taveta; these were referred by Mr.
True, in his article on Dr. Abbott’s Mammals, to _M. damarensis_,
from which he did not distinguish the present species. Mr. H. C. V.
Hunter also obtained this Dik-dik “near the foot of Kilimanjaro,” and
has furnished the British Museum with a skin and skull from that
locality. He says it is “common there, in bush interspersed with aloes
on dry soil,” and “appears to subsist without water.”
Finally, Mr. F. J. Jackson, in his interesting volume on ‘Big Game
Shooting,’ gives us the following information on this Antelope:--“The
Paa is found throughout East Africa in thick and open bush on dry sandy
soil. It is exceedingly plentiful on Manda Island, opposite Lamu,
Merereni, the thick bush east of Taveta, and again in Ngaboto in the
Suk country. It is the smallest of the East-African Antelopes, and
is usually bagged with a shot-gun and No. 5 shot, as it darts about
among the bush and scrub like a rabbit. The flesh of this little beast
has a strong flavour of musk and is very disagreeable to eat at all
times, but in the rutting season is altogether uneatable; the natives,
however, revel in it. Its note of alarm is between a shrill whistle
and a scream. It feeds on the leaves of various shrubs, and doubtless
its curious little prehensile nose is admirably adapted to securing
its food. The Paa is found throughout the year in the driest and most
arid wildernesses, where for several months there is neither rain nor
even a drop of standing water for many miles round. It is therefore
quite evident that the juices of the vegetation on which it feeds and
the dews at night are sufficient for its requirements. The best way
to obtain this little beast is to take three or four men to act as
beaters, and they must thoroughly beat every bush at all likely to hold
a buck, as it is in the habit of lying very close, and it takes a good
deal to move it, but when once started it affords capital snap-shots.”
South of Kilimanjaro this Dik-dik has been obtained by Herr Neumann at
several localities in the interior of German East Africa, in Irangi and
Northern Ugogo, and on Mount Gurui, and by Böhmer near Mpapwa. But Sir
John Kirk assures us that in his extensive experience he has never met
with it on the coast south of the Sabaki River.
The variations in colour of this species have caused us some
difficulty, as while some specimens are strongly black-lined,
without any, or with little, rufous on the sides, neck, and throat,
others are clear rufous, almost without lining, on these parts. The
strongest-lined specimen we have seen comes from Kilimanjaro[4], while
the most rufous is from Lamu. Curiously enough, however, the types,
from Brava, South Somaliland, are fairly intermediate in their colour
between the two, although, if anything, rather more like the one
geographically most distant, that from Kilimanjaro.
In the skulls again, while, as is usual in these Antelopes,
considerable differences are to be observed between any two skulls
compared together, these differences do not appear to be correlated
either with locality or colour-characters. In fact, with regard to the
extension backwards of the premaxillæ towards the nasals, one specimen
in the British Museum Collection has the two extremes on the two sides
of its skull, showing conclusively that this character cannot be relied
upon.
We have therefore come to the conclusion that, so far as the colour
and skull-characters here mentioned are concerned, the Kilimanjaro,
Lamu, and Brava Dik-diks cannot be separated from one another, even as
subspecies or local races.
_December, 1895._
57. GÜNTHER’S DIK-DIK.
MADOQUA GUENTHERI, THOS.
[PLATE XXXI. FIG. 1.]
_Neotragus_, sp., =Lort Phillips=, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 932 (Somali
plateau).
_Neotragus kirkii_, =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1886, p. 504; id. in James,
Unknown Horn of Africa, p. 269 (1888).
_Madoqua guentheri_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1894, p. 324 (figs.
of skull) (Ogaden); =Hoyos=, Zu den Aulihan, p. 185 (1895);
=Swayne=, Somaliland, p. 318 (1895).
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Gussuli_ of Somalis (_Swayne_).
Size of _M. kirki_. Proboscis much more elongated. General colour
coarsely grizzled greyish fawn, very much as in Kilimanjaro examples
of _M. kirki_. No rufous on the sides, and that on the limbs very
dull. Crest much mixed with black. Backs of ears greyish fawn.
Skull with the nasals even more shortened than in _M. kirki_, and
the muzzle even longer and slenderer. In fact the whole appearance of
the skull shows that the proboscis is much more developed than in any
other member of the group. Front of the nasals only about level with
the back of the middle premolar. Premaxillæ short, not nearly reaching
the nasals. Basal length (male) 3·6 inches, greatest breadth 2·08,
muzzle to orbit 2·04, tip of nasals to tip of premaxillae 1·56.
Horns slender, those of the only adult Somali male we have seen--that
presented to the British Museum by Mr. Bonham Christie--longer than
usual, just over 3½ inches.
_Hab._ Plateau of Central Somaliland.
Günther’s Dik-dik, as Thomas has named this species, after the
distinguished naturalist who has lately vacated the post of Keeper
of Zoology in the British Museum, is the third member of the genus
found in Somaliland, but, as a rule, it inhabits a different district
from _M. swaynei_ and _M. phillipsi_, though Capt. Swayne
thinks that in some cases their ranges may overlap. It belongs to the
long-snouted section of the genus, like the two preceding species, but
has its nose still more lengthened and proboscis-like.
[Illustration:
Fig. 30. Skull of _Madoqua guentheri_ (side view, reduced).
(P. Z. S. 1894, p. 324.)
Fig. 30 _a_. Skull of _Madoqua guentheri_ (from above,
reduced).
(P. Z. S. 1894, p. 325.)]