Part 20

a. Hind limbs shorter than fore limbs, so that the withers stand higher than the hind-quarters. Head flatter behind the ears, the parietals and frontals lying almost in the same plane. Horns present in the male only, shorter than the face, not twisted 1. Boselaphus.

b. Hind and fore limbs subequal in length, withers not appreciably higher than hind-quarters. Cranium more convex longitudinally. Horns longer than the face, spirally twisted.

a1. Horns present only in the male, inserted just behind eye and rising so as to form an obtuse angle with the plane of the face.

a2. Horns flat behind at the base, with a strong external basal ridge and rarely more than two complete turns.

a3. Hoofs normal, short; back of the pasterns covered with hair. 2. Tragelaphus.

b3. Hoofs exceedingly long; back of the pasterns naked. 3. Limnotragus.

b2. Horns rounded behind at the base, without external basal ridge, forming an open corkscrew spiral, with three complete turns. 4. Strepsiceros.

b1. Horns present in both sexes, inserted farther behind the eye and directed straight backwards in the plane of the face. 5. Taurotragus.

Genus I. BOSELAPHUS.

Type.

Boselaphus, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc. Philom. p. 75 (1816) B. tragocamelus.

Portax, =H. Smith=, Griff. An. Kingdom, v. p. 366 (1827) B. tragocamelus.

Tragelaphus, =Ogilby=, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 138 B. tragocamelus.

Of large size and somewhat heavy build, with the withers considerably higher than the hind-quarters. Muzzle large and naked. Ears small. Tail reaching the hocks, tufted at the end, more or less fringed at the sides.

Skull very flat above, the parietals nearly in the same plane as the frontals; occipital ridge strong. Molars with long crowns; those of the upper jaw with accessory column.

Horns present only in male, short, shorter than length of face, broad and triangular in section at the base, with strong anterior basal ridge; base of horn inclined obliquely backwards, transversely ridged, distal extremity nearly vertical, lightly curved, smooth, and tapering.

Range of Genus. Restricted to the Peninsula of India.

One species only.

110. THE NILGAI.

BOSELAPHUS TRAGOCAMELUS (Pallas).

Antilope tragocamelus, =Pallas=, Misc. Zool. p. 5 (1766); =id.= Spic. Zool. i. p. 9 (1767), xii. p. 13 (1777); =Erxl.= Syst. R. A. p. 279 (1777); =Zimm.= Spec. Zool. Geogr. p. 540 (1777); =Gatterer=, Brev. Zool. pt. i. p. 80 (1780); =Schreb.= Säug. pl. cclxii. (1784); =Bodd.= Elench. Anim. p. 140 (1785); =Gm.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 184 (1788); =Kerr=, Linn. An. K. p. 308 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool. Beytr. i. p. 625 (1792); =Forst.= Zool. Ind. p. 39 (1795); =Lath. & Dav.= Faun. Ind. p. 4 (1795); =Link=, Beytr. Nat. p. 99 (1795); =Bechst.= Syst. Uebers. vierf. Th. ii. p. 77 (1799); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. pt. ii. p. 329, fig. 190, lower fig. (1801); =Turt.= Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 112 (1802); =Tiedem.= Zool. i. p. 409 (1808); =G. Fisch.= Zoogn. iii. p. 412 (1814); =Afz.= N. Act. Upsal. vii. p. 220 (1815); =G. Cuv.= R. A. i. p. 264 (1817); =Schinz=, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 396 (1821); =G. Cuv.= H. N. Mamm. iii. pl. xlvi. (1824); =Masson=, Cuv. R. A. p. 318 (1836).

Antilope (Bubalis) tragocamelus, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund, vi. p. 164 (1814).

Cemas tragocamelus, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. iii., Zool. p. 729 (1816).

Boselaphus tragocamelus, =Scl.= List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 137 (1883), (9) p. 163 (1896); =Flow. & Gars.= Cat. Ost. p. 260 (1884); =Blanf.= Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm. p. 517 (1891); =Sclater= f. Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. p. 154 (1891); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 345 (1891); =Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 151 (1892), (2) p. 192 (1896); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 145 (1893); =id.= Royal Nat. Hist. ii. p. 278 (1894); =Trouessart=, Cat. Mamm. pt. iv. p. 956 (1898).

Portax tragelaphus, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. lxv. p. 198 (18–16) (corrected to tragocamelus, p. 323, 1847); =id.= Hornsch. Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 149 (tragocamelus, p. 315) (1848); Reprint, p. 73.

Portax tragocamelus, =Gray=, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 146; id. Knowsl. Men. p. 28, pl. xxix. (1850); =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 141 (1852); =Adams=, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 523; =Wood=, Ill. Nat. Hist. i. p. 667, fig. (1862); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 247 (1862); =Blyth=, Cat. Mamm. Mus. As. Soc. p. 165 (1863); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 51 (1872); =id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 121 (1873).

Antilope picta, =Pallas=, Spic. Zool. xii. p. 14 (1777); =Schieb.= Säug. pls. cclxiii. & cclxiii. B, ♂, ♀ (1784); =Bodd.= Elench. Anim. p. 141 (1785); =Gm.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 184 (1788); =Pennant=, Quadr. ed. i. p. 74, pl. vii. (1781), ed. 3, p. 83, pl. xiii. (1793); Linn. An. K. p. 309 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool. Beitr. i. p. 625 (1792); =Lath. & Dav.= Faun. Ind. p. 4 (1795); =Link=, Beytr. Nat. p. 99 (1795); =Cuv.= Tabl. Elém. p. 163 (1798); =Bechst.= Syst. Uebers. vierf. Th. ii. p. 78, pl. 9 (1799); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. pt. ii. p. 327, fig. 189 (1801); =Turt.= Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 112 (1802); =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 248 (1804); =Afz.= N. Act. Upsal. vii. p. 220 (1815); =G. Cuv.= R. A. i. p. 264 (1817); =Goldf.= Schreb. Säug. v. p. 1159 (1818); =Desmoul.= Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 447 (1822); =G. Cuv.= H. N. Mamm. iii. pl. xlvi. (1824); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 476 (1829); =Bennett=, Gard. & Menag. Z. S. i. p. 125 (1830); =Sykes=, P. Z. S. 1831, p. 105; =Masson=, Cuv. R. A. i. p. 318 (1836); =Waterh.= Cat. Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 42 (1838); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 449 (1845); =id.= Nat. Abb. d. Säug. p. 355, t. 161 (1824).

Antilope (Damalis) picta, =Schinz=, Mon. Antil. p. 44, t. 49 (1848).