The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
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).
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