The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
_Sylvicapra natalensis_, =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).
_Antilope (Cephalolophus) natalensis_, =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Supp.
iv. p. 453 (1844), v. p. 426 (1855); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 321 (1859).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Incumbi_ of Swazis and _Mangule_ of
Shangaans (_Rendall_); _Roode-bok_ of Dutch.
Size rather small. Form slender. Colour bright rufous chestnut all
over, without marks or stripes of any kind, except that there is a
faintly marked red superciliary line. Back of neck greyish brown. Chin
and throat whitish. Tail slender, rufous at base; brown, tipped with
white, at its extremity.
Horns set parallel to nasal profile; those of male conical, much
thickened at their bases; their greatest basal diameter going about
three times into their length; length about 3 inches in an old
specimen: those of female similar, but smaller and more sharply
pointed, 1·5 inch in length.
Skull--frontal region roughened and convex; anteorbital fossæ of medium
depth; edge of median posterior palatal notch but little anterior
(about ¼ inch) to the lateral notches.
Dimensions:--♀. Height at withers 17 inches, length of ear 2·5, hind
foot 7·6.
Skull ♂: basal length 5·6 inches, greatest breadth 2·8, orbit to muzzle
3·15.
_Hab._ Natal, Transvaal, and Mashonaland.
The Natal Duiker, which is perhaps a southern representative of the
next species, is, like it, of a nearly uniform bright bay colour,
rather paler below, and with some inconspicuous darker markings on the
vertical crest. Our figure of this species (Plate XVI.) was put on the
stone by Mr. Smit from a sketch prepared by Mr. Wolf, and was probably
taken from one of the specimens in the British Museum; but of this, we
regret to say, there is no certain record.
The discovery of the Natal Duiker is due to Sir Andrew Smith, who met
with it in the forests of Natal and first described it in 1834 in one
of his articles on African Zoology published in the ‘South African
Quarterly Journal.’ Sir Andrew afterwards figured it in the volume of
Mammals of his ‘Illustrations of South African Zoology,’ where the
following notes are given on its habits:--“Both _C. cæruleus_ [=
_C. monticola_, nob.] and _C. natalensis_ inhabit the African
forests; the former towards the Cape of Good Hope, the latter to the
eastward about and beyond Port Natal. They both feed partly upon the
grass which occurs among the underwood, and partly upon the young
leaves and shoots of the brushwood and small trees which exist in the
situations they inhabit; and to obtain the latter they may occasionally
be seen scrambling among shrubs, or ascending the stems of sloping
trees, so as to reach what they cannot attain while they are on the
ground.”
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