is one of the oldest known Antelopes of South Africa, and still exists,
although nowhere plentiful, in the wooded districts of the Colony.
There has been much diversity of opinion as to the specific name by
which this animal should be correctly called, but we believe we are
right in adopting the term _monticola_ given to it by Thunberg as
long ago as 1789. Thunberg was a distinguished naturalist and traveller
of the last century, and a favourite disciple of Linnæus. During his
travels to the Cape, Ceylon, Java, and Japan he amassed a rich harvest
of plants and animals, which were described in the narrative of his
journey, and in the memoirs of various scientific societies.
Another term used by many authors for this Antelope is _pygmæa_. But
the true _Copra pygmæa_ of Linnæus, as has been shown by the late
Sir Victor Brooke, refers to a different Antelope--the little Royal
Antelope of West Africa. The remaining terms, such as _cærulea_,
_perpusilla_, and _minuta_, which have been applied to this species,
are all ante-dated by Thunberg’s term _monticola_.
The Blue-buck, Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington tell us, is now found only
in the coast districts of the Cape Colony, and occasionally in Natal,
being nowhere plentiful. It is solitary in its habits and keeps to the
dense bush and forest, from which it is with difficulty dislodged. When
pursued by dogs it darts across from cover to cover with surprising
celerity. These authors add that this Antelope emits a nasty musky
odour and that its flesh is not particularly good.
How far the Blue Duiker extends beyond the limits of the Cape Colony
is, as yet, a matter of considerable uncertainty, these small Duikers,
owing to their close similarity, being still in a state of much
confusion. According to M. Du Bocage, as recorded in the Zoological
Society’s ‘Proceedings’ for 1878, this species is found in Benguela
and Loando, far up the west coast. On the east coast Peters obtained
specimens near Mozambique, Quillemane, and Inambane, and in Boror,
which, in his ‘Reise nach Mossambique,’ he refers to the present
species. 1
North of the Zambesi in Nyasaland either the Blue Duiker or a closely
allied species is found, of which Mr. Crawshay speaks as follows:--
“This little Antelope, or at any rate a species of Blue-buck very
closely resembling it, appears to be common in parts of the Nyasa
country, especially in the densely wooded slopes of mountains; and
though I cannot claim to have come across any in life, I have yet seen
a good number of their skins--notably among the Anyika of Chombi and
the adjoining mountains, where they are said to be plentiful. On the
thickly wooded mountainous slopes between Bandawe and Syiska they are
also said to exist, and again in some of the hills about Cape Maclear;
but everywhere natives speak of them as being shy and very difficult to
bring to bag in the thick covert where they are generally found.”
In 1862 the late Dr. Gray described and figured in the Zoological
Society’s ‘Proceedings,’ under the name of _Cephalophus bicolor_,
what appears to be merely a piebald variety of the present species.
The specimen was obtained by Mr. John Dunn in the Ungozy Forest
of Zululand. It is in the British Museum. There are also in the
National Collection specimens of this Antelope obtained by Burchell at
Galgebosch, near Uitenhage, in the Cape Colony.
Many specimens of the “Blau-bok,” as it is called in the Zoological
Society’s Catalogues, have been captured and brought alive to this
country and exhibited in the Society’s Gardens. A male was presented
by Sir George Grey, then Governor of the Cape, in 1861, and another by
H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh in 1866. Other specimens of both sexes
were received in 1871, 1874, 1882, and subsequent years. In every case,
as we are informed by the Head Keeper and Superintendent, the females
carried horns as well as the males.
Our figure of this species (Plate XXI. fig. 1) was drawn by Mr. Smit
under the superintendence of the late Sir Victor Brooke. We can find no
record of from what specimen it was taken.
_August, 1895._
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XXII.
_Wolf del. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._
Fig. 1.The Abyssinian Duiker.
CEPHALOPHUS ABYSSINICUS.
Fig. 2. The Crowned Duiker.
CEPHALOPHUS CORONATUS.
_Published by R. H. Porter._]
36. THE CROWNED DUIKER.
CEPHALOPHUS CORONATUS, GRAY.
[PLATE XXII. FIG. 2.]
_Antilope grimmia_, =Pall.= Misc. Zool. p. 12 (1766) (nec _Capra
grimmia_, Linn.); =id.= Spic. Zool. i. p. 15 (1767), xii. p. 18
(1777); =Müll.= Natursyst., Suppl. p. 55 (1776); =Erxl.= Syst.
R. A. p. 276 (1777); =Zimm.= Spec. Zool. geogr. p. 540 (1777);
=id.= Geogr. Gesch. p. 111 (1780); =Gatt.= Brev. Zool. i. p.
80 (1780); =Herm.= Tab. Affin. Anim. p. 107 (1783); =Bodd.=
Elench. An. p. 140 (1785); =Gmel.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 191 (1785);
=Schreb.= Säug. pl. cclx. (animal) (1785); =Kerr=, Linn. An. K.
p. 318 (1792); =Donnd=. Zool. Beytr. i. p. 641 (1792); =Link=,
Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795); =Bechst.= Uebers. vierf. Th. ii.
p. 642 (1800); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 324 (1801);
=Turt.= Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 115 (1802); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H.
(1) x. p. 158 (1803), xxiv. Tabl. p. 32 (1804); =G. Cuv.= Dict.
Sci. Nat. ii. p. 240 (1804); =Ill.= Prodr. Syst. Mamm. p. 106
(1811); =G. Fisch.= Zoogn. iii. p. 424 (1814); =Afzel.= N. Act.
Ups. vii. p. 220 (1815); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1230 (1818);
=Schinz=, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 393 (1821); =Forst.= Descr. Anim.
p. 384 (1844).
_Antilope (Gazella) grimmia_, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund. Berl.
vi. p. 177 (1814).
_Cerophorus (Cervicapra) grimmia_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc. Philom.
1816, p. 75.
_Cephalophus grimmia_, =Jard.= Nat. Libr. (1) vii. p. 227, pl.
xxxii. (1842).
_Cephalophus coronatus_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) x. p. 266
(1842); =id.= op. cit. xviii. p. 164 (1846); =id.= List Ost.
B. M. p. 57 (1847); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 9, pl. vi. (animal)
(1850); =id.= P. Z. S. 1850, p. 122; =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 82
(1852); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. pp. 194, 236 (1853); =Gerr.=
Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 236 (1862); =Gray=, P. Z. S. 1871, p.
599, fig. 7 (skull, yg.); =id.= Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 28 (1872);
=id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 96 (1873); =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1892, p.
427; =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 212 (1893).
_Sylvicapra coronata_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844,
p. 191 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr.
ii. p. 143; Reprint, p. 67 (1848); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1,
p. 168 (1869).
_Antilope (Cephalophus) coronatus_, =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl.
iv. p. 421 (1852).
_Sylvicapra grimmia_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 168
(1869).
_Grimmia grimmia_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas,
ix.) p. 138 (1887).
Size probably, in adult animals, about equal to that of _C.
abyssinicus_; form slender. Colour uniformly light yellow all over,
except a small streak on the nasal region, the tip of the tail, and the
metacarpus and metatarsus, all of which are black. The yellow hairs of
the body finely grizzled with black.
Horns, skull, and teeth of adult not yet known. In the type skull, that
of a half-grown animal, the anteorbital fossæ are of moderate depth,
and the mesial notch on the palate is nearly half an inch in advance of
the lateral ones.
Dimensions of type, immature ♂:--Height at withers 16 inches, ear 3,
hind foot 8·1.
_Hab._ West Africa.
[Illustration: Fig. 21.
Skull of _Cephalophus coronatus_.
(P.Z.S. 1871, p. 599.)]
The Crowned Duiker is a species established by Gray in 1842 upon
specimens brought by Whitfield, Lord Derby’s collector, from the
Gambia. The typical specimen in the British Museum appears to be
immature, as are likewise other examples obtained in its company, and
perfectly adult specimens of this obscure species are much required.
Along with the skins Whitfield brought home a single adult female
for the Derby Menagerie. This was figured in 1842 in two positions by
Waterhouse Hawkins on the sixth plate of the ‘Gleanings.’ In the text
of the ‘Knowsley Menagerie’ we are told that Whitfield’s name for it
was the “Coquetoon,” but in the plate the native name of the present
species is given as “Sinani,” while that of “Coquetoon” is assigned to
_C. rufilatus_ figured in its company, and this vernacular name
has certainly been more generally applied to the latter species.
We suppose that the Antelope described by Pallas as _Antilope
grimmia_ from living specimens brought from the Guinea Coast may
probably have belonged to this species, as may also many references of
the older authors to an _Antilope grimmia_ from Western Africa.
But the true _Capra grimmia_ of Linnæus, as we shall presently
show, refers to another species.
We cannot find that any modern authority refers to fresh examples of
this Antelope, and from the immaturity of the available specimens, to
which we have already referred, we are quite unable to come to any
definite conclusion as to its relationship. In its general appearance,
however, the Crowned Duiker has a certain amount of resemblance to
_C. abyssinicus_ and _C. grimmi_, and we therefore place it
provisionally in its present position.
The accompanying figure (Plate XXII. fig. 2), probably representing the
male of this species, was drawn by Mr. Smit for the late Sir Victor
Brooke, but we are unable to say from what specimen it was prepared.
_August, 1895._
37. THE ABYSSINIAN DUIKER.
CEPHALOPHUS ABYSSINICUS, THOS.
[PLATE XXII. FIG. 1.]
_Antilope madoqua_, =Rüpp.= N. Wirb. Abyss., Säug. p. 22, pl.
vii. fig. 2 (animal) (1830) (description and figure, but not
references to =Bruce=, =Lichtenstein=, and others, which refer
to _Madoqua saltiana_), nec _A. madoka_, H. Sm.; =Schinz=, Syn.
Mamm. ii. p. 423 (1845); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. v. p. 422
(1855).
_Tragelaphus madoqua_, =Rüpp.= Verz. Senck. Mus. p. 37 (1842).
_Sylvicapra madoqua_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844,
p. 190 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr.
ii. p. 142; Reprint, p. 66 (1848); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1,
p. 168 (1869).
_Cephalophus madoqua_, =Gray=, Knowsl. Men. p. 9 (1850); =id.=
P. Z. S. 1871, p. 122; =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 82 (1852);
=Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 194 (1853); =Blanf.= Zool. Abyss.
p. 267 (1870); =Gray=, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 598; =Heugl.= Reise
N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 108 (1877); =Scl.= f. Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii.
p. 168 (1891).
_Grimmia madoqua_, =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 24 (1872); =id.=
Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 93 (1873); =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus.
(Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 132 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus.
(op. cit. xi.) p. 161 (1892).
_Cephalophus abyssinicus_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1892, p. 427; =Lyd.=
Horns and Hoofs, p. 209 (1893).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Madoqua_ of Abyssinians; _Danido_ in Massowa
(_Rüppell_); _Orna_ of Geez; _Midáqua_ of Amharas; _Qalbadu_ and
_Dedanid_ in Tigré (_Heuglin_).
Size about one-third smaller than that of _C. grimmi_. Ears
elongated, about equal to the distance between the anterior canthus and
the rhinarium. Colour grizzled yellowish grey, with rufous face, brown
nasal mark, and brown feet, just as in the grizzled varieties of _C.
grimmi_, of which it is obviously the Abyssinian representative.
Horns (♂) set up at an angle above the line of the nasal profile, but
not so markedly as in _C. grimmi_, 3 inches long, evenly tapering,
their basal diameter going nearly 5 times in their length.
Skull, besides being actually smaller, shorter and broader in
proportion than in _C. grimmi_. Distance between orbit and muzzle
only just about equal to the zygomatic breadth. Anteorbital fossæ of
medium depth. Mesial notch of palate about ⅓ inch in advance of the
lateral ones.
Dimensions:--♂. Height at withers 18 inches, ear 3·5, hind foot 8·7.
Skull: basal length 5·2 inches, greatest breadth 2·98, anterior rim of
orbit to muzzle 2·91.
_Hab._ Highlands of Abyssinia.
Dr. Edouard Rüppell, the renowned zoological explorer of Abyssinia
and subsequently Director of the Senckenbergian Museum at
Frankfort-on-the-Main, was the discoverer of this Antelope as well as
of many other scarce and little-known animals of that wild country.
Unfortunately, however, Rüppell fancied that his Antelope was the
same as one previously met with by Bruce in Abyssinia, and named in
Bruce’s ‘Travels’ “Madoqua.” This was possibly the case, but, as has
been recently shown by Thomas, Hamilton Smith had already assigned the
name _Antilope madoka_ (based on the same native name) to another
species--Salt’s Antelope, _Madoqua saltiana_. It therefore became
necessary to change the name, and Thomas proposed to call the present
species _Cephalophus abyssinicus_.
In his ‘Neue Wirbelthiere,’ after a careful description of this
Antelope, Rüppell tells us that it is only found in the mountainous
provinces of Abyssinia, where the vegetation consists principally of
bush, and in such parts of them as rise from five to eight thousand
feet above the sea-level. Rüppell met with it first at Galla on the
mountain-chain west of Massowa. Afterwards he found it common on the
mountains and valleys of the “Kulla,” where it is always met with in
pairs and is difficult to shoot on account of its traversing the bush
so quickly. Its Abyssinian native name, Rüppell tells us, is “Madoqua,”
which, however, as already stated, has likewise been applied to another
species--Salt’s Antelope.
The only more recent traveller, so far as we know, that has met with
the Abyssinian Duiker in its native wilds is Dr. W. T. Blanford,
F.R.S., who accompanied, as Naturalist, the British Abyssinian
Expedition from Massowa to Magdala in 1867–68 and subsequently
published an excellent volume containing the results of his
observations on the geology and zoology of that country. Dr. Blanford
tells us that this Bush-Antelope is not rare on the highlands of
Abyssinia at elevations of from 7000 to 8000 feet. He usually saw
it solitary in the bushes and small clearings and obtained two
bucks, one at Dildi, the other at Dongolo, of which he gives us the
dimensions. These specimens (as is recorded by Mr. W. L. Sclater in his
‘Catalogue’) are now in the India Museum, Calcutta.
The British Museum contains a single adult male specimen of this
species mounted (together with its skull), upon which Thomas based the
name _abyssinicus_.
Our figure of this species (Plate XXII. fig. 1) was prepared by Mr.
Smit under the directions of the late Sir Victor Brooke, but from what
specimen we are unable to say.
_August, 1895._
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XXIII.
_Wolf del. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._
The Common Duiker.
CEPHALOPHUS GRIMMI.
_Published by R. H. Porter._]
38. THE COMMON DUIKER.
CEPHALOPHUS GRIMMI (LINN.).
[PLATE XXIII.]
_Capra sylvestris africana_, =Grimm=, Misc. Cur. Acad. Nat. Cur.
Decas ii. Ann. iv. 1685, p. 131 (1686).
_Capra grimmia_, =Linn.= Syst. Nat. (10) i. p. 70 (1758).
_Moschus grimmia_, =Linn.= op. cit. (12) i. p. 92 (1766).
_Antilope nictitans_, =Thunb.= Mém. Ac. Pétersb. p. 312 (1811).
_Cemas cana_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Naturgesch. iii. pt. 2, p. 743
(1816).
_Antilope mergens_, =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 193
(1816); =id.= Mamm. ii. p. 463 (1822); =Desmoul.= Dict. Class.
d’H. N. i. p. 446 (1822); =Burch.= Travels, i. p. 187 (1822);
=id.= List Quadr. pres. to B. M. p. 6 (1825) (Zwartwater Poort);
=H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 264, v. p. 346 (1827); =Less.=
Man. Mamm. p. 378 (1827); =Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. xi. (1828);
=Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 467 (1829); =Smuts=, Enum. Mamm. Cap. p.
84 (1832); =Less.= H. N. Mamm. (Compl. Buff.) x. p. 294 (1836);
=Waterh.= Cat. Mamm. Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 41 (1838); =Gerv.= Dict.
Sci. Nat. Suppl. i. p. 262 (1840); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm.
p. 178 (1842); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 447 (1844), v.
p. 418 (1855); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 446 (1845); =Gieb.=
Säug. p. 320 (1859).
_Antilope (Cephalophus) platous_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p.
260, v. p. 344 (1827).
_Antilope (Cephalophus) burchelli_ and _ptox_, =H. Sm.= op. cit.
iv. pp. 262, 265, v. pp. 345, 347 (1827); =Less.= H. N. Mamm.
(Compl. Buff.) x. pp. 293, 294 (1836); =id.= N. Tabl. R. A.,
Mamm. p. 178 (1842).
_Cephalophus platous_ and _ptox_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. J. ii.
pp. 214, 215 (1834).
_Cephalophus burchelli_, =A. Sm.= op. cit. p. 215 (1834);
=Gray=, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 81 (1852); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm.
B. M. p. 236 (1862); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1868, p. 625.
_Cephalophus mergens_, =A. Sm.= op. cit. p. 215 (1834);
=Harris=, Wild An. S. Afr. (fol.) pl. xv. fig. 2 (animal)
(1840); =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 163 (1846);
=id.= List Ost. B. M. p. 57 (1847); =Turner=, P. Z. S. 1850, p.
170; =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 194 (1853); =Scl.= P. Z. S.
1868, p. 625; =Schmidt=, P. Z. S. 1880, p. 307 (length of life);
=Brehm=, Thierl. iii. p. 253 (1880); =Selous=, P. Z. S. 1881,
p. 763 (distribution); =id.= Hunter’s Wanderings S. Afr. p. 223
(1881); =Scl.= List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 147 (1883); =Flow. &
Gars.= Cat. Ost. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 270 (1884); =Mairet=, Bull.
Soc. Acclim. p. 238 (1887); =Hunter=, in Willoughby’s E. Afr. p.
290 (1889) (Kilimanjaro); =Noack=, Zool. JB. Syst. iv. p. 114
(1889) (Banana, Congo); =Scl.= f. Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p.
167 (1891).
_Antilope (Cephalophus) platyotis_, =Less.= H. N. Mamm. (Compl.
Buff.) x. p. 293 (1836).
_Antilope (Grimmia) mergens_, =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i.
p. 624 (1839).
_Tragelaphus mergens_, =Rüpp.= Verzeichn. Senck. Mus. p. 37
(1842).
_Cephalophus mergens_, _burchelli_, and _campbelliæ_, =Gray=,
List Mamm. B. M. p. 162 (1843).
_Antilope ptox_ and _burchelli_, =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. pp.
417, 420 (1845).
_Sylvicapra mergens_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844,
p. 190 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr.
ii. p. 142; Reprint, p. 66 (1848); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1,
p. 167 (1869).
_Cephalophus campbelliæ_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii.
p. 164 (1846); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 9 (1850); =id.= P. Z. S.
1850, p. 121; =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 80 (1852); =Temm.= Esq.
Zool. Guin. p. 194 (1853); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 237
(1862).
_Cephalophus grimmia_, =Gray=, Knowsl. Men. p. 8, pls. i., ii.
(animal) (1850); =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 78 (1852); =Gerr.=
Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 237 (1862); =Blyth=, Cat. Mamm. As.
Soc. p. 167 (1863); =Buckley=, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 283, 1877, p.
453 (distribution).
_Antilope altifrons_ and _ocularis_, =Pet.= Säug. Mozamb. pp.
184–186, pls. xxxvii., xxxviii., xxxix., xli. fig. 1, xlii. fig.
1 (animal & skull, ♂ ♀) (1852); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. v.
pp. 418–420 (1855).
_Cephalophus altifrons_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 194 (1853);
=Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 166 (1869).
_Cephalophus ocularis_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 194 (1853);
=Kirk=, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 656; =Crawshay=, P. Z. S. 1890, p.
661; =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 208 (1893).
_Antilope (Cephalolophus) campbelliæ_, =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Supp.
v. p. 419 (1855).
_Sylvicapra mergens_, _caffra_, _campbelliæ_, and _ocularis_,
=Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, pp. 167, 168 (1869).
_Grimmia nictitans_, _irrorata_, _splendidula_, _burchelli_,
and _campbelliæ_, =Gray=, P. Z. S. 1871, pp. 589, 592, fig. 1
(skull); =id= Cat. Rum. B. M. pp. 22–24 (1872); =id.= Hand-1.
Rum. B.M. pp.92, 93 (1873).
_Cephalophus grimmius_, =Bocage=, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 743 (Angola).
_Grimmia ocularis_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas,
ix.) p. 132 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.)
p. 161 (1892).
_Grimmia mergens_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas,
ix.) p. 132 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.)
p. 161 (1892); =id.= N. L. M. xv. p. 265 (1893) (Cunene R.).
_Cephalophus grimmii_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1892, p. 428; =Ward=,
Horn Meas. p. 76 (1892); =Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsm. S. Afr. p.
27, pl. vii. fig. 26 (head) (1892); =Lyd.= Horns & Hoofs, p.
207 (1893); =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1893, p. 504 (Nyasa); =Jackson= in
Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. pp. 285, 308 (1894) (E. Africa).
_Cephalophus grimmia flavescens_, =Lorenz=, Ann. Mus. Wien, ix.
p. 60, 1895 (Victoria Falls of Zambezi).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Duiker_ and _Duiker-bok_ of Dutch and
English colonists (_Thunberg_, _Burchell_, &c.); _Puti_ of
Bechuanas; _Impunzi_ or _Impuzi_ of Matabili [also of Zulus
and Swazis (_Rendall_)]; _Pembgee_ of Makalakas; _Unsa_ of
Masubias and Makubas; _Insea_ of Batongas; _Goowah_ of Masaras
(_Selous_); _Nyassa_ in Sena (_Peters_); _Insa_ of Anyanja;
_Gwapi_ of Ajawa; _Nyiska_ of Atonga; _Yisya_ of Ahenga
(_Crawshay_); _Ngruvu_ of E. African Swahilis (_Jackson_).
Size medium; form much more delicate and slender than in any of the
species hitherto considered. Ears long, longer than the distance from
the anterior canthus to the tip of the nose, their tip narrow and
pointed. General colour of body pale greyish brown, sometimes with a
yellowish tinge, but very variable in tone; more or less grizzled,
owing to the hairs being annulated with yellowish and brown. Face
rufous or yellowish, with a deep brown longitudinal patch on the nasal
region, rarely extending upwards to the bases of the horns. Throat and
belly like back. Chin, inner sides of fore arms and of thighs, and
underside of tail whitish or pure white. Front of fore legs with a
brownish line running down them to the hoofs. Metapodials brown. Tail
black above and white below, but the base above is commonly coloured
like the back.
Horns normally present only in male. These (see fig. 22, p. 207) are
set up at a considerable angle to the line of the nasal profile,
slender, tapering, attaining to about 5 inches in length, their bases
roughened but not markedly thickened, their greatest basal diameter
going about 6 or 7 times in their length.
Skull long and narrow. Anteorbital fossæ of medium depth, their border
above generally rounded, not sharply ridged. Muzzle long, the distance
from the anterior edge of the orbit to the gnathion much exceeding the
greatest zygomatic breadth. Mesial notch of palate extending some way
in front of the lateral ones.
Dimensions:--♂. Height at withers 23 inches, ear 4·3, hind foot 10·3.
Skull: basal length 7·2 inches, greatest breadth 3·3, anterior rim of
orbit to muzzle 4·4.
_Hab._ South Africa, extending on the west northwards to Angola
and on the east up to British East Africa and Somaliland.
The little Antelope called at the Cape the “Duiker” or “Diver,” not
from its going into the water, but from its “diving” so quickly into
the bushes when alarmed, has been more or less perfectly known to the
naturalists of Europe for the past 200 years. Described by Grimm in
1686 as the _Capra sylvestris africana_ it was dedicated to that
naturalist by Linnæus, when he adopted the binomial system, as the
_Capra_ or _Moschus grimmia_. This term, slightly modified
in accordance with modern usage, we propose to adopt as its specific
name. Other early names bestowed upon it were _Antilope nictitans_
by Thunberg, of whose travels to the Cape we have already spoken, and
_Antilope mergens_ by Blainville, while various appellations,
which are specified in our synonymy, were given to this species and its
varieties by Andrew Smith, Hamilton Smith, Gray, and Fitzinger.
[Illustration: Fig. 22.
Skull of _Cephalophus grimmi_.
(P.Z.S. 1871, p. 591.)]