The Book of Antelopes, Vol. 4 (of 4)

Part 1

THE

BOOK OF ANTELOPES.

PHILIP LUTLEY SCLATER, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.S., SECRETARY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON,

AND

OLDFIELD THOMAS, F.Z.S., F.R.G.S., ASSISTANT IN THE ZOOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

IN FOUR VOLUMES (1894–1900).

VOL. IV.

LONDON: R. H. PORTER, 7 PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W. 1899–1900.

PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

CONTENTS.

VOL. IV.

Page

Subfamily VI. HIPPOTRAGINÆ 1

Genus I. Hippotragus 3

110. The Blue-buck. Hippotragus leucophœus (Pall.). [Plate LXXVI.] 5

111. The Roan Antelope. H. equinus (Desm.). [Plates LXXVII. & LXXVIII.] 13

112. The Sable Antelope. H. niger (Harr.). [Plates LXXIX. & LXXX.] 31

Genus II. Oryx 41

113. The Leucoryx. Oryx leucoryx (Licht.). [Plate LXXXI.] 43

114. The Beatrix Antelope. O. beatrix, Gray. [Plate LXXXII.] 51

115. The Gemsbok. O. gazella (Linn.). [Plate LXXXIII.] 57

116. The Beisa. O. beisa (Rüpp.). [Plate LXXXIV.] 65

117. The Tufted Beisa. O. callotis, Thomas. [Plate LXXXV.] 73

Genus III. Addax 77

118. The Addax. Addax naso-maculatus (Blainv.). [Plate LXXXVI.] 79

Subfamily VII. TRAGELAPHINÆ 89

Genus I. Boselaphus 91

119. The Nilgai. Boselaphus tragocamelus (Pallas). [Plate LXXXVII.] 93

Part 2

Genus II. Tragelaphus 103

120. The Decula Antelope. Tragelaphus decula (Rüpp.). [Plate LXXXVIII.] 105

121. The Harnessed Antelope. T. scriptus (Pallas). [Plate LXXXIX.] 109

122. The Cape Bushbuck. T. sylvaticus (Sparrm.). [Plate XC. fig. 2.] 117

123. Cumming’s Bushbuck. T. roualeyni (Cumming). [Plate XC. fig. 1.] 123

124. Delamere’s Bushbuck. T. delamerei, Pocock 129

125. The Broad-horned Antelope. T. eurycerus (Ogilby). [Plate XCI.] 131

126. Angas’ Antelope. T. angasi, Angas. [Plate XCII.] 137

Genus III. Limnotragus 149

127. Speke’s Sitatunga. Limnotragus spekii (Sclater). [Plate XCIII.] 151

128. Selous’s Sitatunga. L. selousi (Rothsch.). [Plate XCIV.] 157

129. The Congan Sitatunga. L. gratus (Sclater). [Plate XCV.] 165

Genus IV. Strepsiceros 171

130. The Greater Kudu. Strepsiceros capensis (A. Smith). [Plate XCVI.] 173

131. The Lesser Kudu. S. imberbis, Blyth. [Plate XCVII.] 185

Genus V. Taurotragus 193

132. The Eland. Taurotragus oryx (Pall.). [Plates XCVIII. & XCIX.] 195

133. The Derbian Eland. T. derbianus (Gray). [Plate C.] 215

APPENDIX.

List of the Species and Subspecies of Antelopes described as New during the progress of this Work 223

Index 229

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

IN THE TEXT.

VOL. IV.

Fig. Page

88. Frontlet of the Blue-buck 11

89. Horns of Baker’s Roan Antelope 25

90. Head of Roan Antelope 29

Part 3

91. Head of Sable Antelope 38

92. A Leucoryx attacked by a Lion 48

93. Young Leucoryx 49

94. Female Beisa 70

95. Horns of male Addax 83

96. Horns of female Addax 83

97. Head of a female Addax 85

98. Skull and horns of an adult male Nilgai 100

99. Frontlet of an adult male Nilgai 101

100. Skull and horns of Cumming’s Bushbuck 126

101. Frontlet of Cumming’s Bushbuck 127

102. Delamere’s Bushbuck 130

103. The Bongo Antelope 134

104. Head and horns of the Broad-horned Antelope 135

105. Head and horns of Angas’ Antelope 140

106. Angas’ Antelope, ♂ & ♀ 146

107. Horns of Tragelaphus sp. inc. 147

108. Speke’s Sitatunga in a Papyrus-swamp 153

109. Horns and feet of Speke’s Sitatunga 154

110. Speke’s Sitatunga, ♂ & ♀ 156

111. Outer view of right foot of Selous’s Sitatunga, ⅓ t. size 158

112. Horns of Congan Sitatunga 167

113. Head of the male Cgan Sitatunga, from the specimen in the British Museum 169

114. Male and female Kudu 183

115. Horns of Lesser and Greater Kudus 188

116. Skull and horns of Livingstone’s Eland, ♂ 205

117. Horns of Taurotragus oryx gigas 208

118. Abnormal horns of female Eland 209

Part 4

119. Herd of Derbian Elands 218

120. Horns of Derbian Eland 219

121. Front view of the horns of the Derbian Eland 221

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES.

VOL. IV.

Subfamily VI. HIPPOTRAGINÆ.

General Characters.—Size large. Muzzle hairy. Anteorbital glands absent. Tail long, more or less tufted. Mammæ 4.

Skull heavily built; without supraorbital pits, with small or no lachrymal fissures, and without anteorbital fossæ. Molars very high and broad, and with accessory internal columns; therefore very similar to those of the Bovinæ, the subfamily containing the Oxen.

Horns long, straight, curved, or spiral; present and of approximately equal dimensions in both sexes.

Range of Subfamily. Ethiopian Region—Africa south of Atlas and Arabia.

This subfamily contains some of the largest and finest Antelopes in existence. Three genera are usually recognized, which may be distinguished as follows:—

A. Horns straight or curved, not twisted. Hoofs normal. a. Horns placed above the orbits, starting nearly vertically upwards and then curving strongly backwards 1. Hippotragus. b. Horns placed behind the orbits, slanting backwards nearly in the line of the face 2. Oryx. B. Horns spirally twisted, placed as in Oryx. Hoofs broadly rounded. 3. Addax.

GENUS I. HIPPOTRAGUS.

Type.

Egocerus, Desm. Mamm. ii. p. 475 (1822) H. leucophæus. (nec Ægoceros, Pall. Zool. Ross.-As. i. p. 224 (1811)

Aigocerus, H. Sm. Griff. An. K. v. p. 324 (1827) H. leucophæus.

Hippotragus, Sund. Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. H. leucophæus. 1844, p. 196 (1846).

Ozanna, Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 227 (1880) H. niger. (in synonymy)

Size large; form high and comparatively slender, less stout and bovine than in the succeeding genera. Muzzle hairy. Tail long and tufted. Mammæ 4. Large accessory hoofs present.

Skull proportionally long, its frontal region very convex upwards, the large horn-cores rising almost vertically above the posterior half of the orbits. Lachrymal fissures almost or quite obsolete. No anteorbital fossa. Premaxillæ not reaching to the nasals.

Horns medium or long, slightly but evenly divergent, nearly vertical basally, strongly curved backwards above; heavily ringed.

Female with horns similar to those of the male, but shorter, slenderer, and much smoother.

Range of the Genus. Africa south of the Sahara, but not occurring in the great Congo Forest.

Of this genus, which contains some of the handsomest Antelopes in existence, we recognize three species, one of them (alas!) now extinct. The widely distributed Roan Antelope may be provisionally separated into four local subspecies, which require further elucidation.

A. General colour greyish or pale brown. Horns not or but little longer than the head. a. Size smaller. Face without black markings. 110. H. leucophæus. b. Size larger. Face with strongly contrasted black and white markings. 111. H. equinus. a1. General colour greyish; ears shorter. (S. Africa.) Subsp. typica. b1. General colour pale rufous; ears shorter. (E. Africa.) Subsp. rufo-pallida. c1. General colour browner; ears longer. (N.E. Africa.) Subsp. bakeri. d1. General colour more fulvous; ears still longer. (W. Africa.) Subsp. gambiana. B. General colour black. Horns much longer than the head. 112. H. niger.

110. THE BLUE-BUCK.

HIPPOTRAGUS LEUCOPHÆUS (Pall.).

Blue Antelope, =Pennant=, Quadr. p. 66 (1781).

Part 5

La Gazelle Tzeiran, =Buff.= Hist. Nat. Suppl. vi. p. 168, pl. xx. (1782).

Blaauw-bok, =Sparrm.= Voy. to Cape (Engl. transl.), ii. p. 219 (1786).

Blawe Bock, =Le Vaill.= Voy. à l’int. de l’Afrique, i. p. 58 (1790).

Antilope leucophæa, =Pall.= Misc. Zool. p. 4 (1766); =id.= Spic. Zool. fasc. i. p. 6 (1767), fasc. xii. p. 12 (1777); =Erxl.= Syst. R. A. p. 271 (1777); =Zimm.= Spec. Zool. Geogr. p. 545 (1777); =id.= Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 106 (1780); =Gatt.= Brev. Zool. i. p. 78 (1780); =Schr.= Säug. pl. cclxxviii. (1784); =Bodd.= Elench. Anim. p. 139 (1785); =Gmel.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 182 (1788); =Kerr=, Linn. An. K. p. 306 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool. Beytr. p. 619 (1792); =Link=, Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795); =Dandin=, in Lacépède’s Buffon, xiv. p. 183 (1799); =Bechst.= Syst. Uebers. vierf. Th. ii. p. 641 (1800); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. ii. p. 355 (1801); =Turt.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 111 (1802); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) xxiv. Tabl. p. 52 (1804); =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 204 (1804); =Tied.= Zool. i. p. 408 (1808); =Thunb.= Mém. Ac. Pétersb. iii. p. 313 (1811); =Licht.= Reise, i. p. 265, ii. p. 121 (1811–12); =G. Fisch.= Zoogn. iii. p. 416 (1814); Afz. N. Act. Ups. vii. p. 219 (1815); =Desm.= N. Diet. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 204 (1816); =G. Cuv.= R. A. i. p. 262 (1817); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1183 (1818); =Gray=, Med. Repos. xv. p. 307 (1821); =Schinz=, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 394 (1821); =Desmoul.= Dict. Class. i. p. 446 (1822); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 176, v. p. 324 (1827); =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 386 (1827); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 479 (1829); =Smuts=, En. Mamm. Cap. p. 68 (1832); =Oken=, Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1396 (1838); =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 618 (1841); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 440 (1845); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 192 (1853); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 295 (1853).

Capra leucophæa, =Thunb.= Resa, ii. p. 127 (1789); Engl. Transl. ii. p. 113 (1793).

Antilope (Bubalis) leucophæa, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Fr. Berl. vi. p. 159 (1814).

Cerophorus (Oryx) leucophæus, =De Blainv.= Bull. Soc. Philom. 1816, p. 75.

Antilope (Egocerus) leucophæa, =Desm.= Mamm. ii. p. 475 (1822).

Aigocerus leucophæus, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. Journ. ii. p. 185 (1834); =Gray=, Knowsl. Men. p. 16 (1850); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 177 (1869); =Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. (4) iv. p. 483 (1887); =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 135; =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (t. c. xi.) p. 166 (1892).

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