The book of antelopes, vol. 2 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 2 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
This recently described species has been founded upon a single specimen
obtained by Mr. Astor Chanler, during his recent expedition into
the interior of British East Africa, on the slopes of the Jambene
mountains, about 45 miles N.N.E. of Mount Kenia. In his volume entitled
‘Through Jungle and Desert,’ in which an account of his expedition is
given, Mr. Chanler speaks of this animal as follows:--“During the rains
(of 1893) three small Antelopes visited the hill just above my camp (at
Daicho[16]) and I was able to secure one of them. I felt convinced that
it was a new species, so I carefully preserved its skeleton and skin.
It proved to be a species of Reedbuck heretofore unknown, and has since
been designated ‘_Cervicapra chanleri_.’”
[Illustration: Fig. 43.
Head of _Cervicapra chanleri_.
(From the typical specimen.)]
Mr. Chanler’s specimen of this Reedbuck was placed in the hands of
Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co., of Piccadilly, for the purpose of being
mounted, and there attracted Mr. Ward’s special attention, as he
had previously seen a flat skin somewhat similar, and had called Mr.
Chanler’s attention to it before his departure on his expedition.
Before sending the specimen to its destination in the United States
National Museum at Washington, Mr. Ward showed it to Mr. Walter
Rothschild as probably belonging to an undescribed species, and
shortly afterwards Mr. Rothschild dedicated it to its discoverer in
a paper published in the second volume of ‘Novitates Zoologicæ,’
with the following characters:--“This new species belongs to the
group of the smaller species of _Cervicapra_, and is nearest
to _C. bohor_, but much the smallest of the genus. Perhaps the
most striking difference to the ordinary observer is the central
black stripe running from the nose to between the eyes. Head and neck
generally orange-buff, as in _C. bohor_; back, sides of body,
upperside of tail, and outer sides of limbs warm buffy grey, instead of
being of the same colour as the neck, as in _C. bohor_ and _C.
redunca_. Belly, underside of tail, and inside of limbs down to the
knees white. Just below the knee in front is a dark brown patch. The
ears seem to be longer and narrower in proportion than those of _C.
bohor_; they are sparingly covered on the outside with short hair of
the colour of the neck, and inside thickly lined with long white hair.
The horns are much smaller and thinner than those of _C. bohor_,
and much more so, of course, than those of _C. redunca_, both of
which are much more curved forward. The rings on the horns project much
more and are much sharper than in my specimens of _C. bohor_ and
_C. redunca_, and are also much more regular. They are five in
number, besides the basal ring.”
“The skull is in all its proportions much smaller than that of _C.
bohor_, but the palatine is, if anything, longer than in _C.
bohor_.
“Height about 30 inches, hoofs on the bottom line 1½, fore legs 20,
tail about 6, ear 6¼, horns along the curve nearly 6.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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