The book of antelopes, vol. 3 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 3 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
Height at withers 31 or 32 inches. General colour bright rufous fawn; a
strongly marked, dark, lateral band present, as in many Gazelles. Face
pure white, a narrow fawn-coloured line running forwards to the muzzle
from the openings of the anteorbital glands on each side. Crown and
centre of forehead fawn-coloured like the neck and back. Ears long and
pointed, their backs white or pale fawn. Posterior back with a strongly
contrasted pure white line, the white hairs of which are placed in a
fold of the skin, which fold is everted when the animal is excited, and
then forms a prominent white crest; rump white, in continuation with
the dorsal line; tail also white basally, black and crested terminally.
Belly pure white. Limbs fawn-coloured externally, white on their inner
sides and behind.
Skull-dimensions of a male:--Basal length 7·8 inches, greatest breadth
3·7, muzzle to orbit 4·7.
Horns attaining a length of about 14 or 15 inches round the curves, one
specimen being recorded as long as 19 inches.
_Female_ similar to male, but horns smaller and not so strongly
ringed at the base.
_Hab._ South Africa, south of the Zambesi, extending northwards
on the west to Mossamedes.
The Springbuck is, no doubt, very closely allied to the Gazelles; but
in view of its peculiar dentition, which, as we have pointed out above
(p. 53), is unique in the bovine family, and of the remarkable dorsal
fold of skin, which is not found in any of its allies, we have thought
it advisable to adopt for it the generic term _Antidorcas_, first
provisionally suggested for it by Sundevall in 1847, and subsequently
employed by many naturalists. The locality of the Springbuck is also
quite distinct from that of the typical Gazelles, which are essentially
a northern group, no true _Gazellæ_ being met with until we
advance as far north as German East Africa.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account