Part 47

“Ammodorcas clarkei, the Debbertag of the Somali, one of the most beautiful and interesting of the rare Antelopes of that country, is, I believe, exceedingly local. From the reports of Messrs. Gillett, Pease, and other travellers, and my own experience, I should roughly describe the range of these Antelopes as contained within North latitude 8° to 9° 30´, and East longitude 44°, to an unknown distance towards the east. Morning and evening (within the above limits) they may be found feeding in the open grass-covered plains which are dotted with small scrubby bushes, patches of tall durr-grass, and immensely tall white-ant hills. During the heat of the day they retire to the shade of some solitary tree, where the dark mouse-colour of their backs makes them particularly hard to pick out. Here they stand motionless throughout the hot hours, apparently drowsy, but in reality alert, and watching the landscape with the keenest eyes for signs of danger from man, or the deadliest of all their enemies--the leopard. In the opinion of the Midgan (the Somāli hunting tribe) these are the wariest of Antelope, and I have always had great difficulty in getting within shot, partly because of the open nature of their feeding-ground, but principally on account of their watchfulness and keenness of vision at unusually great distances. On one occasion, being lucky enough to get within 100 yards of two, and finding them to be a female and calf, I contented myself with watching; and for upwards of half an hour, whilst they fed, not two consecutive mouthfuls were taken without the head being sharply raised and a suspicious glance taken all round. In preference they feed upon the small bushes, their long necks enabling them to reach up to the young shoots, like Waller’s Gazelle, although they appear to choose a less thorny variety. I have met with them occasionally singly, generally in twos or threes, and once only as many as five together. When disturbed they stand rigid, head upraised, ears erect, tail stiffening, and the instant they begin to run the tail (which is unusually long) stands up perpendicularly, presenting, as they gallop away with their springy bounding action, rather the appearance of a yawl’s mizzen-mast in a sea-way. Thus they make a particularly difficult mark for the disgusted stalker, who, exhausted by a long and arduous crawl through the scanty cover, probably gets nothing but the flukiest of snap-shots at the coveted specimen.”

Through the kind intervention of Mr. Pease we have also received some interesting particulars as to a wider range of the “Dibatag” from Lieut. R. Ward Jackson, of the 11th Hussars, who, accompanied by Capt. M. S. Wellby, has recently penetrated far into the eastern interior of the Somaliland peninsula. Mr. Jackson writes as follows:--

“In my journey I first saw Dibatag between Bair and Kirrit. They appear to be scattered all over the country between Bair and Hodayu, and I found them most plentiful about 25 miles from Kirrit. There Wellby shot three and wounded a fourth in one day, but, as a rule, I saw two or three each day in a march of about 20 miles.

“Travelling eastward from Hodayu they gradually appeared to grow less plentiful, and the last record I have of having seen one was about 150 miles from Hodayu. After this I saw no more until between Dagha Dalola and Mudug, about 130 miles from the former, in the Mijourten country. Here I was surprised to find them again very plentiful for three days, and I saw a few on the following three days, after which they again ceased. A week afterwards I found them again plentiful in the Marehan country, gradually diminishing in numbers as we travelled south; the last I saw was about 40 miles before we struck the Webbe Shebeyli. On the homeward journey I came across an odd pair now and then in the south of the Ogaden country. I have marked very roughly (see map, fig. 84) the belts within which I found them most plentiful. I do not remember having seen more than eight together. In the Mijourten and Marehan country I have found them quite close to Barao, and most plentiful in country where there was very good grazing of ‘gillop,’ ‘jalaalo,’ and a fine feathery grass. The country between Bair and Hodayu resembled the Haud. As regards the description of the Dibatag, I can add nothing to that contained in Swayne’s ‘Seventeen Trips in Somaliland.’”

Map of Somaliland (showing the localities of the Dibatag).]

The specimens of Ammodorcas clarkei in the British Museum consist of a head-skin with its skull from Burao Wells, presented by Mr. T. W. H. Clarke (the type of the species), and a stuffed male, the skins of a male and two females and their skulls from the same district, obtained in his second expedition, and presented by the same donor. There are also a skin and skeleton of a female from Darror Wells, on the Haud, presented by Mr. Ford G. Barclay, and the skull of a male from near the Bur Dap Mountain, Central Somaliland, presented by Col. A. Paget.

Our illustration of the male of this Gazelle, with the female in the distance (Plate LXXIII.), has been drawn and put on the stone from the specimens in the British Museum.

September, 1898.

GENUS VIII. LITHOCRANIUS.

Type. Lithocranius, =Kohl=, Ann. Mus. Wien, i. p. 79 (1886) L. WALLERI.

Size about as in the larger Gazelles. Form very peculiar, owing to the great elongation of the neck, which gives almost a Giraffe-like appearance to the animal. Limbs also very long; false hoofs quite minute. Colouring of the head less typically Gazelline than in Ammodorcas, but a modification of the light lateral body-line present.

Skull (see fig. 85, p. 231) excessively long and low, the cranial part behind the horns particularly lengthened; the bones of this part very solid and stony. Bullæ low and opaque. A shallow anteorbital fossa present. Premaxillæ not reaching the nasals. Lower jaw slender and delicate. Premolars 3/3, the anterior one above almost as large as the second.

Horns thick, oval in section, very closely ringed, curved backwards as in many species of Gazella for the greater part of their length, their middle portion more or less lyrate, as in Gazella dorcas, their tips recurved upwards or forwards. Female hornless.

Range of the Genus. Somaliland and British East Africa.

One species only.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXXIV.

J Smit del et lith. Hanhart imp.

The Gerenuk.

LITHOCRANIUS WALLERI.

Published by R H Porter.]

108. THE GERENUK.

LITHOCRANIUS WALLERI (BROOKE).

Gazella walleri, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 929, pl. lvi. (skull); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1884, p. 538, pl. xlix. (head and skin); =Phillips=, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 931; =Scl.= in James’s Unknown Horn of Africa, p. 262, pl. i. (1888); =Hunter=, in Willoughby’s E. Afr. p. 289 (1889); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 342 (1891); =Inverarity=, Journ. Bombay N. H. Soc. vi. p. 459 (1891).

Lit(h)ocranius (Gazella) walleri, =Kohl=, Ann. Mus. Wien, i. p. 79, pl. v. fig. 3, and pl. vi. fig. 1 (skull) (1886) (Somaliland).

Lithocranius walleri, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1891, p. 207; =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1892, p. 101; =Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 305; =Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 134 (1892), (2) p. 175 (1896); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 241 (1893); =Jackson=, in Badminton Big Game Shooting, i. p. 307 (head) (1894); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1893, pp. 101 & 118; =Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 305 (habits); =id.= Seventeen Trips to Somaliland, p. 312 (1895); =Matsch.= Säug. Deutsch-O.-Afr. p. 132 (1895); =Hoyos=, Zu den Aulihan, p. 180, pl. x. fig. 4 (1895); =Thos.= Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) xvii. p. 107 (1896); =Rhoads=, P. Ac. Philad. 1896, p. 519; =Elliot=, Publ. Chicago Mus. Zool. i. p. 226 (1897).

VERNACULAR NAME:--Gerenuk of Somalis (Swayne and others).

Height at withers 39 inches in an old male. General colour of back rich chestnut rufous, sharply bounded on the upperside of each flank by the very distinct light lateral line, which passes below imperceptibly into fawn-colour, much paler than the dorsal colour, no trace of a dark lateral line being present. The fawn-colour also extends on to the crown, all round the neck, on the shoulders, hips, and down the limbs. Central line of face deep rufous; area round eye whitish, sometimes extended forwards as a light final streak towards the muzzle, but more often stopping just anterior to the openings of the lacrymal glands. Backs of ears pale fawn-colour; area round their bases but little lighter than rest of head. Fawn-colour of throat projecting down on to chest, as in Ammodorcas clarkei. Outer sides of limbs pale fawn throughout. Tail about 10 inches in length, rufous-fawn like the body basally above, whitish below, the tip tufted with black; on each side of its base the white of the hams, which is very narrow, runs up as a pointed projection into the dark body-colour.

The skull of an old male measures 8·75 inches in basal length, the greatest breadth being 3·8, and the muzzle to orbit 4·7.