Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

_Calotragus melanotis_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl.
1844, p. 192 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand.
Beitr. ii. p. 144; Reprint, p. 68 (1848); =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N.
H. (1) xviii. p. 232 (1846); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 7 (1850);
=id.= P. Z. S. 1850, p. 118; =id.= Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p.
136 (1851); =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 72 (1852); =Temm.= Esq.
Zool. Guin. p. 192 (1855); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p.
235 (1862); =Blyth=, Cat. Mamm. Mus. As. Soc. p. 166 (1863);
=Layard=, Cat. S. Afr. Mus. p. 70 (1861); =Fitz.= SB. Ak. Wien,
lix. pt. 1, p. 165 (1869); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 19 (1872);
=id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 90 (1873); =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd.
Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 131 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd.
Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 159 (1892); =Matschie=, Thierw. Ost-Afr.
Säugeth. p. 120 (1895).

_Nanotragus melanotis_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 642;
=Selous=, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 762 (distribution); =id.= Hunt.
Wanderings S. Afr. p. 222 (1881); =Bryden=, Kloof and Karroo, p.
300 (1889); =W. Scl.= Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 167 (1891);
=Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 339 (1891); =Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsm. S.
Afr. p. 26, pl. viii. fig. 29 (head) (1892); =Lyd.= Horns and
Hoofs, p. 219 (1893); =Lorenz=, Ann. Mus. Wien, ix. p. 60 (1895).

_Neotragus melanotis_, =Scl.= List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 145
(1883); =id.= P. Z. S. 1895, p. 590; =Rendall,= P. Z. S. 1895,
p. 361.

_Antilope grisea_, =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 244 (1816);
=Burch.= List Mamm. pres. to B. M. p. 6 (1825) (Plettenberg’s
Bay); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 250, v. p. 341 (1827);
=Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 177 (1842) (_nec_ Boddaert).

_Cerophorus_ (_Cervicapra_) _grisea_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc.
Philom. 1816, p. 75.

_Oreotragus griseus_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 164 (1843).

_Antilope rubro-albescens_, =Desmoul.= Dict. Class. d’H. N. i.
p. 446 (1822).

VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Grysbok_ of Dutch and English Cape
Colonists; _Sash-lungwan_ of Matabilis; _Teemba_ of Makalakas
(_Selous_); _Cassenja_ at Senna and Tette (_Peters_).

Height about 22–23 inches. Fur long and coarse, of a deep rich red colour profusely mixed with pure white hairs, whence the name “Grys” or Grey-buck. Under surface paler, but not white. Crown frequently with a black crescentic mark running round it, as in the Steinbok[1]. Ears very large, their backs grey. Limbs red. Accessory hoofs present, but very small, far smaller than in the Oribis. Tail very short, not blackened at its tip.

Skull and horns very like those of a Steinbok, but the nasal bones seem to be shorter, and the premaxillæ do not reach so far backwards. A good adult male skull of this species is, however, a desideratum: we have only been able to examine immature specimens or those deteriorated by confinement.

_Hab._ South Africa north to the Zambesi and Mozambique.

The Forsters, who visited the Cape in 1775 during their voyage round the world along with the great circumnavigator Cook, furnished Buffon with notices respecting many of the Antelopes which at that time were met with even in the immediate vicinity of Cape Town. Amongst these was the present species, which was accordingly described by Buffon, in the Supplement to his ‘Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Quadrupèdes,’ as the Grysbok or “Chèvre-gris.” About the same period as the Forsters the learned Swedish naturalist Thunberg visited the Cape, and made himself acquainted with this and the other Antelopes of that district. In an article subsequently published by the Academy of St. Petersburg on the Mammals met with during his stay in South Africa, Thunberg named the Grysbok _Antilope melanotis_, and his specific name has usually been adopted for this species, though a subsequently given term _grisea_ of G. Cuvier has also been applied to it.

In his ‘Darstellung neuer oder wenig bekannter Säugethiere,’ Lichtenstein has given coloured figures of both sexes of this Antelope from specimens in the Berlin Museum, probably procured by himself. In the days of Lichtenstein (1803–06) the Grysbok was to be found in all the middle and western districts of the Cape Colony amongst the hills, and, according to him, was particularly esteemed as game on account of its tender and delicate flesh.

Harris, in his great work on the ‘Game Animals of South Africa,’ has figured the Grysbok on his 26th plate, along with the Bushbok and the Blaauwbok; he mentions it as, in his time (1836–37), common in the Colony “among the wooded tracts which skirt the coasts.” Describing his hunt with a party of Boers, residing not far from the banks of the Knysna, who had given him a day’s shooting over their best preserves, he speaks of “proteas and large plots of scarlet geraniums, interspersed with patches of purple heath,” as being the “favourite harbour of the roan Grysbok,” and gives an account of its pursuit as follows:--“Squatted like a hare upon its snug form, this beautiful little animal is rarely to be dislodged until well nigh trodden upon; but the dogs have pushed one out of that bed of fern, and are hunting it directly towards us. Returning again and again upon its old track, it bounds now over the head of the clustering heather, now doubles round the corner of a bush, and now, darting aside into the narrow footpath by which we are advancing, stands a moment with averted head to listen for its pursuers. Finding them close upon its heels, away it flies again, and making a desperate plunge into the heart of a thick shrub, vainly hopes that it may have found an asylum. But thine enemies have again ferreted thee out, cunning one! and disabled by a stray buckshot from the _roer_ of that ruthless Hollander, thou art circling round with dizzy brain and drooping head in quest of a corner wherein thou mayst lie down to die. Alas! Mynheer’s rude hand has seized thee, innocent! and whilst he is fumbling for a knife wherewith to terminate thy helpless struggles, who that hears thy plaintive cries, like those of a new-born babe, or witnesses the infantine simplicity expressed in thy large melting black eye, brimful of dewy tears, can fail inwardly to curse his barbarity?”

In 1861 Mr. E. L. Layard describes the Grysbok as still found in some abundance at the foot of Table Mountain and on the Lion’s Hill in the immediate vicinity of Cape Town, though we are somewhat doubtful whether that is the case at the present time.

Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington speak of the Grysbok as being mostly found in the eastern districts of the Colony and on the borders of Natal. Its habits, they state, are solitary and almost identical with those of the Steinbok (_R. campestris_), except that it invariably frequents hilly, broken, and stony country in preference to open flats. Its flesh, they add, is not particularly good. As regards its range farther north, Mr. Selous tells us that beyond the Limpopo the Grysbok is only met with in certain hilly districts of the more easterly portions of the interior. In Matabeleland it is very scarce, but in all the hilly country of the Victoria Falls and throughout Mashonaland down to the Zambesi it is fairly numerous. Mr. Selous also speaks of it as being met with in the South African territory north of the Zambesi as far as he penetrated; and Peters has recorded its presence, not uncommonly, in the plains of Sena, Tette, and Macanga in Mozambique up to 16° N. latitude.

The Grysbok is included by Matschie in his recently published work on the Mammals of German East Africa, but only upon the ground that it will probably be found to occur there. We are not able to confirm this statement, having never seen specimens of the Grysbok from any locality so far north.

The Grysbok has been occasionally brought alive to Europe, but does not appear to do well in captivity. The first example recorded in the Zoological Society’s register is a female presented by Sir George Grey in 1861. A second specimen was obtained by purchase in 1864, and a third in 1869. In May of the present year a female specimen was presented to the Society by Mr. J. E. Matcham, of Port Elizabeth, but did not live long in the Gardens. From this animal the figure of the Grysbok now given (Plate XXVII. fig. 2) has been coloured by Mr. Smit, though the plate was originally taken by the same artist from a water-colour drawing prepared by Wolf, under the direction of the late Sir Victor Brooke, from some other specimen. This drawing, along with many other original sketches of Wolf’s, is now in the possession of Sir Douglas Brooke.

The National Collection is not well provided with examples of this Antelope. Besides a pair collected by Burchell in 1814 there are in the series only some skulls and skeletons of somewhat doubtful authority. Good fresh specimens of both sexes of the Grysbok, accompanied by their skulls, would therefore form a valuable acquisition to the British Museum.

_December, 1895._

47. THE STEINBOK.

RAPHICERUS CAMPESTRIS (THUNB.).

[PLATE XXVII. FIG. 1.]

_Capra grimmia_, =Thunb.= Resa, ii. p. 8 (1789); =id.= Engl.
Transl. ii. p. 7 (1793) (_nec_ Linn.) (Cape Town).

_Antilope campestris_, Thunb. Mém. Ac. Pétersb. iii. p. 313
(1811).

_Calotragus campestris_, =Gray=, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 71 (1852);
Layard, Cat. S. Afr. Mus. p. 68 (1861); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm.
B. M. p. 235 (1862).

_Pediotragus campestris_, =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 31 (1872);
id. Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 100 (1873).

_Nanotragus campestris_, =Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsm. S. Afr. p.
24, pl. ii. fig. 6 (head) (1892); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 217
(1893); =Jackson=, Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. pp. 285 & 301
(1894) (E. Africa); =Lorenz=, Ann. Mus. Wien, ix. p. 60 (1895).

_Neotragus campestris_, =Rendall=, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 361.

_Antilope tragulus_, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund. vi. p. 176
(1814); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1234 (1818); =Schinz=, Cuv.
Thierr. i. p. 392 (1821); =Desm.= Mamm. ii. p. 458 (1822);
=Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. xiv. (♂ ♀) (1828); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn.
Mamm. p. 464 (1829); =Smuts=, Enum. Mamm. Cap. p. 81 (1832);
=Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p. 291 (1836); =Oken=, Allg. Naturg.
vii. p. 1362 (1838); =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 622
(1839); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. Suppl. i. p. 262 (1840); =Less.=
N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 177 (1842); =Forst.= Descr. Anim. pp.
36 & 374 (1844); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 436 (1844),
v. p. 410 (1855); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 411 (1845);
=Peters=, Reise Mossamb., Säug. p. 187 (1852) (Inhambane);
=Gieb.= Säug. p. 318 (1854); =Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p.
88.

_Tragelaphus tragulus_, =Rüpp.= Verz. Senck. Mus. p. 37 (1842).

_Oreotragus tragulus_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 164 (1843);
=id.= List Ost. B. M. p. 146 (1847).

_Calotragus tragulus_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1844,
p. 192 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr.
ii. p. 144; Reprint, p. 68 (1848); =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1)
xviii. p. 232 (1846); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 7 (1850); =id.=
P. Z. S. 1850, p. 48; =id.= Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p. 136
(1851); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 192 (1853); =Blyth=, Cat.
Mamm. As. Soc. p. 166 (1863); =Drumm.= Large Game S. Afr. pp.
395 & 426 (1875) (Zululand).

_Pediotragus tragulus_, =Fitz.= SB. Ak. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 163
(1869); =Jent.= N. L. M. ix. p. 173 (1887) (Mossamedes); =id.=
Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 134 (1887); =id.=
Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 165 (1892); =id.= N. L.
M. xv. p. 265 (1893) (Cunene R.).

_Nanotragus tragulus_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, pp. 642 & 874;
=Buckley=, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 283 (distribution); =Bocage=, P. Z.
S. 1878, p. 742; =Selous=, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 762; =id.= Hunt.
Wand. S. Afr. p. 222 (1881); =Bryden=, Kloof and Karroo, p. 300
(1889); =Hunter=, in Willoughby’s E. Africa, p. 290 (1889);
=Crawshay=, P. Z. S. 1890, p. 654 (Nyasa); =W. Scl.= Cat. Mamm.
Calc. Mus. ii. p. 166 (1891); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 339
(1891); =Lugard=, E. Africa, i. p. 540 (1893).

_Neotragus tragulus_, =Scl.= List Anim. Zool. Soc. (8) p. 145
(1883); =id.= P. Z. S. 1861, p. 209.

_Antilope tragulus rupestris_, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund. vi. p.
177 (1814); =Forst.= Descr. Anim. p. 376 (1844).

_Antilope rupestris_, =Burch.= Travels, i. pp. 202, 281 (1822),
ii. p. 15 (1824); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 248, v. p. 340
(1827); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 412 (1845).

_Tragulus rupestris_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. J. ii. p. 212
(1834); =Harris=, Wild An. S. Afr. pl. xxv. fig. 2 (♂) (1840).

_Antilope capensis_ (misprint for _campestris_), =Afzel.= N.
Act. Ups. vii. p. 254 (1815).

_Antilope ibex_, =Afzel.= N. Act. Ups. vii. p. 263 (1815);
=Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 376 (1827).

_Cerophorus_ (_Cervicapra_) _stenbock_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc.
Philom. 1816, p. 75.

_Cerophorus_ (_Cervicapra_) _acuticornis_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc.
Philom. 1816, pp. 75 & 79; =id.= Journ. Phys., Aug. 1818, pl.
fig. 8 (skull); =id.= Oken’s Isis, 1819, ii. p. 1095, pl. xii.
fig. 8 (skull).

_Antilope acuticornis_, =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 193
(1816); =Schinz=, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 395 (1821); =Desm.= Mamm.
ii. p. 460 (1822); =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 377 (1827); =Flow. &
Gars.= Cat. Ost. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 275 (1884).

_Antilope_ (_Raphicerus_) _acuticornis_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K.
iv. p. 252, v. p. 342 (1827); =Less.= H. N. Mamm. (Compl. Buff.)
x. p. 292 (1836); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. Suppl. i. p. 262
(1840); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 177 (1842).

_Antilope fulvo-rubescens_, =Desmoul.= Dict. Class. d’H. N. i.
p. 446 (1822).

_Antilope_ (_Raphicerus_) _subulata_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv.
p. 253 (fig. horns), v. p. 342 (1827); =Less.= Compl. Buff. x.
p. 292 (1836); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. Suppl. i. p. 262 (1840);
=Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 177 (1842).

_Pediotragus tragulus grayi_, =Fitz.= SB. Ak. Wien, lix. pt. 1,
p. 163 (1869).

_Vernacular Names_:--_Steinbok_ of Dutch and English Colonists;
_Iquia_ of Kaffirs (_Drummond_); _Ingnweena_ or _Umgwena_ of
Matabilis; _Puruhuru_ of Bechuanas; _Ee-peu-nee_ of Makalakas;
_Kahu_ of Masubias; _Kimba_ of Batongas; _Gai-ee_ of Masaras
(_Selous_); _Shipeni_ of Transvaal Shangeans; _Njena_ of Swazis
(_Rendall_); _Ishah_ of E. African Swahilis (_Hunter_).

Size small. General colour bright sandy rufous, richer on the head. Top of muzzle and a horseshoe-shaped marking on the crown generally brown, but these marks are by no means constant. A white supraorbital stripe, much as in the Oribi. No auricular gland. No knee-tufts nor false hoofs present. Tail short, coloured above like the back, below whitish, no black tip.

Skull stoutly built, its upper surface peculiarly roughened and ridged. Premaxillæ reaching to, and articulating with, the nasals.

Horns, in proportion to the size of the animal, longer than in the Oribis, very slender, smooth, and practically unridged throughout. Their direction is nearly vertical, and they are slightly curved forwards.

Dimensions, ♂:--Height at withers 19·5 inches, length of hind foot 9·7, ear 4·2.

Skull: basal length 4·86 inches, greatest breadth 2·68, muzzle to orbit 2·6.

_Hab._ South Africa, from the Cape to the Zambesi and on
the west to the Cunene.

The Steinbok became known to the Forsters and Thunberg through the Dutch settlers at the Cape at about the same date as the Grysbok, and in 1811 received the scientific name _Antilope campestris_ from the latter author in his memoir, published by the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, to which we have already alluded. Three years later Lichtenstein in his article upon the species of Antilope published in the Magazine of the “Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde” of Berlin, proposed the name _Antilope tragulus_, but under this designation united both the Steinbok and the Grysbok, as well as the pale variety of the latter species which the Dutch settlers called the “Bleekbok.” In uniting the Steinbok and Grysbok under one head Lichtenstein was clearly in error, the structural difference presented by the absence of accessory hoofs, as well as the divergence in the colour of the fur, sufficiently distinguishing the present species from the Grysbok. Lichtenstein no doubt derived his ideas upon this subject from Forster’s manuscripts, as the same view is taken in Forster’s posthumous work ‘Descriptiones Animalium,’ when it was tardily published in 1844. Under these circumstances there can be no doubt, we think, that “_campestris_” is the proper specific term to be employed for the present species.

In an article upon the Ruminants published by Blainville in the ‘Bulletin of the Société Philomathique’ for 1816 and subsequently enlarged in the ‘Journal de Physique,’ that author described and figured the skull of a specimen which he had observed in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London and called it _Antilope acuticornis_. On Blainville’s description and figure of this skull Hamilton Smith, in the fifth volume of Griffith’s Cuvier, subsequently established a new genus of Antelopes, “_Raphicerus_.” Whoever consults this figure and compares it with a skull of the Steinbok will inevitably come to the conclusion that the figure represents the skull of that animal. We have accordingly added _Antilope acuticornis_ of Blainville, and the further references to it subsequently published, to the synonyms of the Steinbok, and under these circumstances have thought it necessary to give the generic term _Raphicerus_ precedence as the generic name of the present group over the better known names _Calotragus_ of Sundevall and _Pediotragus_ of Fitzinger.

It would seem also that _Antilope subulata_ of Hamilton Smith, given in the same work as a second species of _Raphicerus_, and taken from another pair of horns, also then in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, may be safely referred to the present species.

Captain Harris, in his ‘Portraits of the Game and Wild Animals of South Africa,’ published in 1840, figures the Steen-bok, as he calls it, along with the Rhebok in his 25th plate, and speaks of it as “common in the Colony.”

In 1861, when Mr. Layard prepared his ‘Catalogue of the Mammals in the Collection of the South African Museum,’ the Steinbok was spoken of as then common throughout the Colony. It is partial, Mr. Layard tells us, “to flat plains covered with bushes” and “selects a spot, in the immediate neighbourhood of which it may constantly be found. When a Steinbok is killed off, a few days suffice to reproduce a new occupant for the favoured spot.”

Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington, in their ‘Sportsman in South Africa’ (one of our most recent authorities on the subject), speak of the Steinbuck as the “most common and widely distributed Antelope of South Africa from Cape Town to the Zambesi, frequenting the open flats either singly or in pairs.” As the hares of the Cape afford little or no sport for coursing, the Steinbok has been employed as their substitute. These authors give us the following notes upon this subject:--“At Kimberley, in Griqualand West, a regular coursing club was organized shortly after the discovery of the diamond fields, and it has been carried on ever since with the greatest success, the colonists being just as much interested in the result of the annual Club Cup as sportsmen are in England over the Waterloo Cup, large sums of money changing hands at the meetings. It requires, however, a really fast powerful greyhound with a lot of bottom to run up on a Steinbuck. As nearly all proprietors strictly preserve the species in Griqualand West, they are there very numerous, perhaps even more so than in the native territories further north. This Antelope commences feeding about sundown, and continues its wanderings during the night, at sunrise retiring under cover of some low thick clump of bush or patch of long grass, where, unless disturbed, it passes the entire day in concealment. As it usually lies asleep during the great heat of the sun, it can then be easily walked up to and readily disposed of with a charge of buckshot. When severely wounded or hard pressed by dogs, it will often take refuge in the burrow of the Aard-vark (_Oryctoropus_). At all times the Steinbuck is rather a difficult shot with the rifle; but if the half-hour before dusk or sunrise be chosen, some pretty rifle-shooting may be obtained, and a quiet stalk at such times through a _veldt_ which they frequent will often well repay the sportsman when larger antelopes are not at hand. The wind has no influence with regard to the direction in which it goes, as it will run either up or down wind. It does not frequent very hilly or thick bush country, and is capable of existing for long periods without water. The Steinbuck is very easily tamed, but invariably becomes blind when kept in captivity for any length of time. The flesh is excellent.”

Mr. Selous, in his valuable notes on South Central African Antelopes read before the Zoological Society of London in June 1881, gives us a list of the various native names of this little Antelope, and says that it is spread all over South Africa from the Cape to the Zambesi, except in the mountainous districts and in tracts of very thick bush. North of the Zambesi Mr. Selous did not meet with any Steinboks. But it is certain from the researches of Mr. Crawshay in Nyasaland, of Herr Oscar Neumann in German East Africa, and Mr. Jackson and other authorities in British East Africa, that the Steinbok, or a very closely allied representative, is found, in suitable localities, nearly up to the Tana River. For the present, however, we shall follow Herr Matschie’s views in considering the East-African form _Raphicerus neumanni_ as possibly belonging to a distinct species.

From the western frontiers of the Cape Colony the Steinbok, or a very nearly allied form, appears to extend up to the Cunene River in the interior of Angola, whence specimens, referred by M. Du Bocage, with some hesitation, to the Steinbok, were forwarded in 1874 to the Lisbon Museum by M. d’Anchieta.

The only example of the Steinbok registered in the Zoological Society’s Catalogues is a female specimen presented by Sir George Grey, K.C.B., then Governor of the Cape Colony, in 1861. We are not aware of any other examples of this Antelope having been brought to Europe.

Our figure of this species (Plate XXVII. fig. 1) was put on the stone by Mr. Smit from a drawing by Wolf prepared under the directions of the late Sir Victor Brooke. The drawing is now in Sir Douglas Brooke’s possession. We regret to be unable to state from what specimen it was taken.

The National Collection contains a pair of mounted specimens of this Antelope obtained by Wahlberg in Cafferland, and several skins without exact localities. A skull from Port Elizabeth was obtained by Mr. F. C. Selous. Further specimens of both sexes with exact dates and localities would be highly appreciated.

_December, 1895._

48. NEUMANN’S STEINBOK.

RAPHICERUS NEUMANNI (MATSCH.).

_Nanotragus tragulus_, =Hunter=, in Willoughby’s E. Afr. p. 290
(1889) (?).

_Nanotragus campestris_, =Jackson=, Big Game Shooting, p. 285
(1894) (?).

_Pediotragus neumanni_, =Matsch.= SB. nat. Freund. 1894, p. 122
(N. Ugogo); =id.= Thierw. Ost-Afr. Säugeth. p. 120.

VERNACULAR NAME:--_Dondoro_ in Ugogo (_Neumann_).

Similar to _R. campestris_, but without any black colour on the head.

_Hab._ East Africa, from the Tana to Nyasaland.

As already stated in our remarks on the preceding species, we are by no means satisfied as to the specific difference of the Steinbok of East Africa from the corresponding form met with south of the Zambesi. But until further evidence on this point is available we will not dissent from the views of Herr Matschie, who has decided that the East-African form is distinct, and has proposed to call it after Herr Oscar Neumann, to whom the Berlin Museum is indebted for its specimens.

Herr Neumann, who has recently returned from a most successful expedition, in which he traversed unexplored portions of German East Africa up to Lake Victoria and returned through British territory, met with this Antelope, as he kindly informs us, in Northern Ugogo, Iranga, Usandawe, and near Mount Gurui. He describes its habits as almost like those of _Madoqua kirki_ and _Cephalophus harveyi_, with which it is often found in company in the thinly-bushed districts. But it also occasionally goes out into the open prairies, and then lies concealed in the tall grasses like the Reedbucks. Its Swahili name is given as ‘Dondoro.’

In his appendix to Sir John Willoughby’s ‘East Africa and its Big Game,’ Mr. Hunter includes the “Steinbok” amongst the Antelopes met with in the plains round Kilimanjaro, where, he says, it is very often seen in the long grass. Mr. F. J. Jackson also speaks of the “Steinbok” in his account of the Antelopes of the same district. He says that its Swahili name is “Ishah,” but that it is better known to some sportsmen as the Grass-Antelope, and continues as follows:--“It is more plentiful at Kilimanjaro than elsewhere, though I have seen a good many all along the caravan-route, wherever it passes through open grass country, between Mombasa and Nzoi in Ukambani. This little Antelope is the smallest of those found in the open plains. It is a stupid little beast, and requires very little stalking to outwit it. It will often stand gazing at anyone who approaches, and allow him to walk up to within 100 yards of it.”

If it should turn out that _R. neumanni_ is a good species, it is probable that that Steinbok or Ishah of British East Africa, referred to by these two distinguished sportsmen, will be found to belong to it.

In his ‘Field-notes on the Antelopes of Nyasaland,’ published in 1890, Mr. R. Crawshay includes the Steinbuck. But he had only procured one specimen, and admits that he was uncertain as to its identification.

As will be seen by this and by previous remarks that we have made, our knowledge of the Antelopes of East Africa is still far from complete, and there is a large opportunity for further discoveries on this subject by those who will kindly assist us with notes and specimens.

The British Museum contains two skulls, probably of this species, obtained between Mombasa and Kilimanjaro by Mr. H. C. V. Hunter.

_December, 1895._

GENUS IV. NESOTRAGUS.

Type.

_Nesotragus_, =Von Düb.= Öfv. K. Vet.-Ak. Förh.
iii. 1846, p. 221 (1847). N. MOSCHATUS.

No auricular glands or accessory hoofs.

Skull with very large anteorbital fossæ, sharply defined above and below, almost as in _Ourebia_; anteorbital vacuity present on each side of the hinder end of the nasal bones; on the sides of the muzzle a long oval vacuity present on the suture between the premaxillary and maxillary bones; nasal opening oval, its sides bowed outwards as usual.

Horns half or more the basal length of the skull, strongly slanted back almost to the continuation line of the facial profile; strongly, but finely, closely ridged for their basal half or three-fourths.

_Distribution._ East Africa.

To this genus there belong two closely allied species, which may be distinguished as follows:--

_a._ Horns small and Colour fawn-grey. Tip of tail like back.
slender. 49. _N. moschatus_.

_b._ Horns longer and Colour more Tail blackish above.
thicker. rufous. 50. _N. livingstonianus_.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XXVIII.

_Wolf del. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._

The Zanzibar Antelope.

NESOTRAGUS MOSCHATUS.

_Published by R. H. Porter]_

49. THE ZANZIBAR ANTELOPE.

NESOTRAGUS MOSCHATUS, VON DÜB.

[PLATE XXVIII.]

_Nesotragus moschatus_, =Von Düben=, Öfv. K. Vet.-Ak. Förh. iii.
1846, p. 221 (1847) (French Is., off Zanzibar); =Sund.= Pecora,
K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 322 (1847); =id.= Hornschuch’s
Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 314; Reprint, p. 134 (1848);
=Gray=, Knowsl. Men. p. 8 (1850); =id.= P. Z. S. 1850, p. 119;
=id.= Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p. 137 (1851); =id.= Cat. Ung.
B. M. p. 75 (1852); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. pp. 192, 209
(1853); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1864, p. 101; =Fitz.= SB. Ak. Wien, lix.
pt. 1, p. 164 (1869); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 30 (1872);
=id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 99 (1873); =Huet=, Bull. Soc.
Acclim. 1887, p. 49; =Ward=, Horn Meas. p. 80 (1892); =Matsch.=
Thierw. Ost-Afr. Saügeth. p. 119.

_Antilope moschata_, =Wagn.= Schr. Säug., Suppl. v. p. 415
(1855).

_Nanotragus moschatus_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 642;
=Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 339 (1891); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs,
p. 217 (1893); =True=, P. U. S. Nat. Mus. xv. p. 478 (1892)
(Kilimanjaro); =Jackson=, Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. pp. 285,
310 (1894).

_Cephalophorus zanzibaricus_, =Layard=, Cat. Mamm. S. Afr. Mus.
p. 72 (1861).

_Nesotragus kirchenpaueri_, =Pagenst.= JB. Mus. Hamb. ii. p. 36
(1885) (Kilimanjaro).

VERNACULAR NAMES:--“_Grave-Island Gazelle_” of E.-African
Sportsmen (_Jackson_); _Suni_ of Kichagas of Kilimanjaro
(_Abbott_); _Paa_ of Swahilis (_Fischer_, teste _Matschie_).

Size small; height about 13 inches at withers. General colour dull, finely grizzled fawn-grey, with a tinge of rufous, which is especially strong on the face and sides of the neck. Top of nose with a brown patch. Throat pale rufous. Chin, belly, and inner sides of limbs white. Upper part of outer sides of limbs like flanks, lower part, from elbows and hocks downwards, pale rufous; pasterns brown. Tail grizzled greyish above like the back, whitish below.

Skull with the bony palate ending, in the middle line, just in front of the level of the back of the last molar.

Dimensions of a good male example:--Basal length 4 inches, greatest breadth 2·3, muzzle to orbit 2·15.

Horns from 2½ to 3 inches long, very slender, their circumference at their thickest part only about 1·4 inch.

_Hab._ Islets in Zanzibar Harbour and the coast-districts
of the mainland from Kilimanjaro southwards to Mozambique.

The discovery of this little Antelope is due to the researches of the Swedish naturalist Baron von Düben, who described it in 1846 from specimens procured by himself at Zanzibar, and named it _Nesotragus moschatus_--“_Nesotragus_” from its supposed insular habitat, and “_moschatus_” from the musky smell of its facial glands. Little more was known of this species until 1861, when Mr. Layard described it as new under the name _Cephalophorus zanzibaricus_ from specimens in the South-African Museum which he had himself obtained during the voyage of H.M.S. ‘Cantor’ on the island off Zanzibar used as a European burial-ground. According to what Mr. Layard was told the species had been introduced here by Col. Hamilton, and had multiplied so largely that sixteen were shot in an hour by a party of the ship’s officers. “The island was covered with low bush, out of which the men beat the Antelopes, which ran along the beach like rabbits. Their runs could be traced in all directions through the bushes.”

In 1864 Sclater recorded this Antelope among the mammals obtained by Capt. Speke during his celebrated expedition into East Africa. Speke’s specimen, an adult male, obtained at Zanzibar, is now in the gallery of the British Museum, and is, we believe, the original of Wolf’s water-colour drawing (now in the possession of Sir Douglas Brooke), whence Mr. Smit’s figure (Plate XXVIII.) was engraved under Sir Victor Brooke’s superintendence.

Sir John Kirk, so long known as H.B.M. Consul-General at Zanzibar, who furnished a set of skins and skulls of this Antelope to the National Collection, has most kindly supplied us with the following notes on it:--

“The small Antelope (_Nesotragus moschatus_) which you ask about was common on two small coral islands that guard the entrances to the harbour of Zanzibar (which is situated on the land or western side of the island of that name) about 1866, when I first took up residence there. I never knew of it having been seen anywhere else, not even on the main island of Zanzibar. I have heard it said, however, on reliable authority that it has been met with on the continent; this, however, I cannot confirm from personal experience. To me, therefore, the little Antelope is known only on these two small islands that I have indicated. Both of them are made of coral-rock raised about 15 feet above sea-level. They are much eroded on the exposed sea face and on the surface, where the sharp angles of rock make progress most difficult and even dangerous. There is no fresh water on these islands, unless it be the little that gathers in the pot-holes, but these are generally deep with sharp edges, and out of reach of the _Nesotragus_, which for many months cannot get fresh water other than rain or dew on the leaves.

“These islands are covered with dense bush and tangled creepers, and the _Ipomœa pescapræ_ and _Canavalia_ bean form a green mat down to the water-edge. Elsewhere all is evergreen bush and trees; the only grass there has a wiry texture, and is never eaten. The _Nesotragus_, like so many other Antelopes, lives on leaves and twigs of trees and scrub, and this is probably why it is so difficult to keep in captivity. I made many attempts to rear young ones and send them to the Zoological Gardens, but failed. Only once was I able to keep one alive for any time by gradually accustoming it to eat native millet or sorghum.

“When first I went to Zanzibar there was no cultivation on either of these islands, but in time Bawe, the larger of the two, was planted with cocoanuts where there was sand. Two thirds of the island, however, were nothing but bare coral-rock, covered with tangled jungle, and useless for any purpose, and there the Antelope held its own, or rather just managed to resist extermination.

“On the other island, which was only used as a burial-place for Europeans, the Antelope was much more numerous. This island was nearly all bare rock, cut up with pot-holes, and covered with tangled vegetation; only at one point was there sand, and this was the spot converted into a cemetery.

“As Europeans began to arrive in Zanzibar it became a favourite afternoon’s amusement to go to this island to shoot pigeons; and then the Antelopes got reduced in numbers, and became very rare.

“For some years before I left it was seldom that a good head with horns, such as were common in former times, was ever secured, so that unless the _Nesotragus_ has been preserved by the authorities I should think by this time it must be nearly extinct.

“The Antelope lives in the thick bush, it is seldom met with in the open spaces between the clumps of vegetation, and has to be shot as it darts from one bush to another.

“So far as I know, it has only one natural enemy on these little islands, namely, a python, which is often of a great size, and which can find little to live on here except these Antelopes and mice.”

In his volume on the Mammals of German East Africa, Herr Matschie records the occurrence of the Zanzibar Antelope in several localities on the continent. Stuhlmann met with it in Ukama and Usaramo, Fischer at Gross-Aruscha, and Böhmer near Mpapwa.

The German explorers say that this Antelope feeds ordinarily on fresh leaves, but accustoms itself to grass and bananas in captivity. Gravid females were found in August and October, so that it seems to breed twice a year. Fischer found it common everywhere during his journeys in German East Africa. It is easily to be observed, early in the morning and in the evening, if the sportsman hides away among the bushes, as at these times it is on the feed. On being alarmed it utters a peculiar cry.

In British East Africa Mr. Jackson, in his volume of the Badminton Library Series on “Big Game Shooting,” tells us that the “Grave-Island Gazelle,” as the British sportsmen call this species, is found in the thick bush behind Frere-town, near Mombasa, and also in the Duruma country. Like the “Paa” (_Madoqua kirki_) it is a bush-feeder, and requires little or no water.

Dr. W. L. Abbott, as recorded by Mr. True, obtained a young male of this species at a height of about 6000 feet on Kilimanjaro, where it was brought to him alive by the natives.

There are no examples of this species from the mainland in the British Museum.

_December, 1895._

50. LIVINGSTONE’S ANTELOPE.

NESOTRAGUS LIVINGSTONIANUS, KIRK.

_Antilope moschata_, =Peters=, Reise Mossamb., Säug. p. 189
(1852) (_nec_ v. Düben) (Tette).

_Nesotragus moschatus_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus.
Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 134 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op.
cit. xi.) p. 165 (1892).

_Nesotragus livingstonianus_, =Kirk=, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 657
(Shupanga); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 31 (1872); =id.= Hand-l.
Rum. B. M. p. 100 (1873).

_Nanotragus livingstonianus_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1893, p. 237
(fig. skull) (Umkozi R., Zululand).

VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Rumpsa_ at Tette; _Injasorro_ in Mozambique
(_Peters_); _Inhlengana_ of Zulus (_A. H. Neumann_).

Size larger than _N. moschatus_, and in other respects a finer and more richly coloured animal. General colour deep rufous, verging on chestnut; flanks and limbs more fawn-coloured than in _N. moschatus_. Top of tail darker than back, approaching black; its underside white.

Skull with the posterior palate produced backwards about a quarter of an inch behind the level of the back of the last molar.

Dimensions of a fine male example:--Basal length 4·4 inches, greatest breadth 2·45, muzzle to orbit 2·35.

Horns thick and heavy, especially in southern specimens, strongly but closely ridged to within an inch of their tips. In Mr. Neumann’s fine Zululand specimen there are no less than 25 rings to a horn-length of 3·3 in., and in the same example the circumference of the horns is about 1·7 in.

_Hab._ South-east Africa from Mozambique to Zululand.

In the Portuguese territory of Mozambique, and so on to Zululand, we find the place of the Zanzibar Antelope occupied by a nearly allied but larger species, with much thicker and more strongly ridged horns. This is Livingstone’s Antelope, discovered by Sir John Kirk during his companionship with the celebrated traveller after whom he named it. Sir John Kirk obtained his specimens at Shupanga and Lupata on the Zambesi, where, he says, it is called “Ramsa” or “Lumdsa,” and described them in an article on the Mammals of Zambesia, published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’ for 1864. In habits, he tells us, Livingstone’s Antelope much resembles its ally of Zanzibar; it frequents dense underwood, and lives in pairs. On being started it runs off quickly, not unlike a hare, and conceals itself in some tuft of grass or small bush.

It is probable, as suggested by Sir John Kirk, that the _Antilope moschata_ of Peters, met with by that distinguished naturalist at Tette on the Zambesi, should be referred to the present species.

Little more was known of this Antelope until 1893, when the British Museum received from the well-known African sportsman Mr. A. H. Neumann specimens of a small Antelope obtained in Northern Zululand in April of the previous year. On comparing these with the scalp and skull on which _Nesotragus livingstonianus_ had been based by Sir John Kirk, Thomas came to the conclusion that they belonged to the same species. Although the horns of Mr. Neumann’s specimen were stouter and heavier, the differences appeared to be such as might be attributable to age.

In a letter published in the ‘Field’ newspaper (of September 3rd, 1892) Mr. Neumann has given the following particulars respecting this Antelope:--

“I have known of the existence of this Antelope in South-eastern Africa for many years, but have only lately had an opportunity of obtaining a specimen. The native name for it is ‘Inhlengana.’ It is barely larger than the tiny Blue-buck of S. Africa, but carries very much larger horns in proportion to its size. The specimen sent is an old male. The white hairs on the head are said to be from age, and not general to the species. This one was killed in North-eastern Zululand, which district seems to be the southerly limit of its range. It frequents the densely bushed parts of the low flats between the coast and the Bombo range. How far north it ranges I cannot say, but I first heard of it in the neighbourhood of the Lower Limpopo and Komati rivers.

“It has a very strong musky scent, the source of which appears to be the large glands (the hollows for which are conspicuous in the skull) below the eyes, and of which the openings appear in the skin. So powerful is this odour that it may often be perceived pervading the bushes that the bucks frequent. Even the flesh (of the male, at all events) is so highly flavoured by this peculiar essence as to be barely eatable.

Skull of _Nesotragus livingstonianus_, ♂.

(P. Z. S. 1893, p. 238.)]

“The animal from which this skull and skin were taken was killed by a native, and spoilt as a specimen for mounting before I got it; hence the skin is sent merely for purposes of identification. It would not be difficult, however, to procure others, as they seem fairly plentiful in parts.”

Mr. H. M. Barber, F.R.G.S., a well-known authority on the game-animals of South-east Africa, has lately forwarded to Sclater a description of an Antelope and a photograph of its head, which are, no doubt, also referable to the present species. Mr. Barber states that the Antelope in question is found in the neighbourhood of Delagoa Bay, between the Tembe and Maputa Rivers, and is of a mouse-colour with a reddish head, standing about a foot in height. He describes its habits as follows:--“It frequents reeds and low-lying scrub along the river banks, and is also found amongst the bracken which constitutes the undergrowth of the forests in those parts. The annulations of the horns of the living bucks are often completely filled up by bark of the trees which the buck is in the habit of rubbing up against. This gives the horns a peculiar yellowish-brown appearance.”

Our illustration of the skull of this Antelope (fig. 25) has been kindly lent to us by the Council of the Zoological Society of London.

It may be remarked that the most southern (Zululand) examples of this Antelope seem to exceed those of the Zambesi in size and richness of colour. It is therefore possible that intermediate specimens, connecting the Zambesi form with the _N. moschatus_ of the north, may hereafter be found in the intervening districts, but until this occurs it is better to recognize the two species as distinct.

_December, 1895._

GENUS V. NEOTRAGUS.

Type.

_Neotragus_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K.
v. p. 349 (1827) N. PYGMÆUS.

_Tragulus_, =Ogilb.= P. Z. S. 1836, p. 138
(nec Pall.) N. PYGMÆUS.

_Minytragus_, =Glog.= Naturg. p. 154 (1841) N. PYGMÆUS.

_Spinigera_, =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 178
(1842) N. PYGMÆUS.

_Nanotragus_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl.
1844, p. 191 (1846) N. PYGMÆUS.

Size very small. No auricular glands nor accessory hoofs. Tail of median length.

Skull with its muzzle unusually well ossified, so that there are no anteorbital vacuities, nor extra vacuities in the maxillo-premaxillary suture. Anteorbital fossæ very large. Nasal opening a vertical oblong, its sides not bowed outwards.

Horns excessively small, their length less than the diameter of the orbit; laid right back on the sides of the crown in the direction of the facial profile.

_Distribution._ West Africa.

Only one species of this genus is known.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XXIX.

_Wolf del. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._

The Royal Antelope.

NEOTRAGUS PYGMÆUS.

_Published by R·H·Porter._]

51. THE ROYAL ANTELOPE.

NEOTRAGUS PYGMÆUS (LINN.).

[PLATE XXIX.]

_Cervus pusillus guineensis_, =Seba=, Thesaurus, i. p. 10, pl.
xliii. fig. 3 (1734).

_Capra pygmæa_, =Linn.= Syst. Nat. (10) i. p. 69 (1758).

_Moschus pygmæus_, =Linn.= Syst. Nat. (12) i. p. 92 (1766).

_Antilope pygmæa_, =Pall.= Spic. Zool. xii. p. 18 (1777);
=Zimm.= Spec. Zool. geogr. p. 540 (1777); =id.= Geogr. Gesch.
ii. p. 112 (1780); =Herm.= Tabl. Affin. Anim. p. 107 (1783);
=Gmel.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 191 (1788); =Kerr=, Linn. An. K. p.
318 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool. Beytr. i. p. 642 (1792); =Link=,
Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795); =Bechst.= Allgem. Uebers. vierf.
Thiere, ii. p. 642 (1800); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 326
(1801); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) x. p. 251 (1803), xxiv.
Tabl. p. 32 (1804); =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 241 (1804);
=G. Fisch.= Zoogn. iii. p. 414 (1814); =Afzel.= N. Act. Ups.
vii. p. 220 (1815); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 192
(1816); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1237 (1818); =Desm.= Mamm.
ii. p. 465 (1822); =Desmoul.= Dict. Class. i. p. 445 (1822);
=Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 379 (1827); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p.
469 (1829); =Oken=, Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1360 (1838).

_Tragulus pygmæus_, =Bodd.= Elench. Anim. p. 131 (1785);
=Ogilb.= P. Z. S. 1836, p. 138.

_Antilope_ (_Gazella_) _pygmæa_, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund. vi.
p. 178 (1814).

_Cerophorus_ (_Cervicapra_) _pygmæa_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc.
Philom. 1816, p. 75.

_Cemas pygmæa_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Naturg. iii. Zool. ii. p. 744
(1816).

_Antilope_ (_Neotragus_) _pygmæa_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p.
270, v. p. 349 (1827).

_Neotragus pygmæa_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. J. ii. p. 218 (1834).

_Cephalophorus_ (?) _pygmæus_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 163
(1843).

_Nanotragus pygmæus_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231
(1846); =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 640, pl. liii. (animal),
fig. skull; =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 339 (1891); =Lyd.= Horns and
Hoofs, p. 216 (1893).

_Cephalophus (Nanotragus) pygmæus_, =Gerv.= H. N. Mamm. ii. p.
209 (1855).

_Antilope regia_, =Erxl.= Syst. R. A. p. 278 (1777); =Gatt.=
Brev. Zool. i. p. 80 (1780); =Bodd.= Elench. An. p. 140 (1785).

_Nanotragus regius_, =Gray=, Knowsl. Men. p. 12 (1850).

_Antilope spinigera_, =Temm.= Mon. Mamm. i. p. xxx (1827)
(descr. nulla); =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 379 (1827); =J. B. Fisch.=
Syn. Mamm. p. 469 (1829); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. Suppl. i. p.
263 (1840); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 457 (1844), v.
p. 416 (1855); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 421 (1845); =Gieb.=
Säug. p. 320 (1854).

_Antilope_ (_Spinigera_) _spiniger_, =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A.,
Mamm. p. 178 (1842).

_Nanotragus spiniger_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1844,
p. 191 (1846); =id.= Öfv. K. Vet.-Ak. Förh. 1846, p. 83 (1847);
=id.= Pecora, Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p.
143; Reprint, p. 67 (1848); =Fitz.= SB. Ak. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p.
164 (1869); =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p.
134 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, xi.) p.
164 (1892).

_Calotragus spiniger_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. pp. 192 & 201
(1853).

_Cephalophus spiniger_, =Büttikofer=, Reisebild. Liberia, ii. p.
379 (1890).

_Nanotragus perpusillus_, =Gray=, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 126; id.
Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p. 143 (1851); =id.= Cat. Rum. B. M.
p. 30 (1872); =id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 98 (1873).

_Antilope perpusilla_, =Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 67.

VERNACULAR NAME:--_Sang_ of the Veys in Liberia (_Büttikofer_).

Height about 10 inches at withers. General colour bright rufous fawn, browner on head and fore back, richer posteriorly and on sides of neck and flanks. Chin and under surface pure sharply defined white. Limbs rufous, except a narrow line down the posterior side of the fore and the anterior side of the hind ones, which is white. Tail about 2½ inches long, without its tuft, bright rufous above, except at its tip, where it is pure white, as it is also below.

Skull as described above. Dimensions of an old male example:--Basal length (c.) 3·5 inches, greatest breadth 1·9, muzzle to orbit 1·84.

Horns less than an inch long, sharply pointed, perfectly smooth and without ridges.

_Hab._ Forests of West Africa from Liberia to Ashantee.

The literary history and complicated synonymy of the Royal Antelope occupied the attention of the late Sir Victor Brooke, when he was engaged in the study of the Ruminants, for a considerable period, and the result was a valuable communication to the Zoological Society of London on the 21st May, 1872, which was subsequently published in the Society’s ‘Proceedings.’ Being engaged on a work originally planned by our lamented friend, and having the use of the illustrations which he has so carefully prepared, we cannot do better than commence our account of this species with a _résumé_ of his excellent elucidation of this difficult subject, which is nearly as follows:--

Bosman, in his Description of the Gold Coast, published at Utrecht in 1704[2], seems to have been the first author who mentions the Royal Antelope. After describing the colour and very small size of the animal, and the custom of making the feet into pipe-stoppers (one of which he states he had sent home set in gold), Bosman writes:--“the negroes call it the ‘King of the Harts.’ This expression, no doubt, originated the English name of ‘Royal Antelope,’ by which this species has always been known.”

The celebrated ‘Thesaurus’ of Seba, published in 1734, gives us the first record of specimens of this animal having found their way into European museums, figure 3 of the 43rd plate of that work, illustrating his _Cervus juvencus perpusillus guineensis_, being, as Sir Victor Brooke has shown, undoubtedly referable to the Royal Antelope. In 1754 the Museum of King Adolphus Frederick seems to have contained a specimen of this animal, and it was in the folio catalogue of this collection that Linnæus appears to have first given a definite name (_Capra perpusilla_) to the present species. It seems, therefore, that the two sources from which Linnæus derived his knowledge of it were Seba’s ‘Thesaurus,’ with possibly an examination of Seba’s specimens, and, secondly, the Museum of King Adolphus Frederick. As regards the ‘Systema Naturæ,’ Linnæus first mentioned this species in his second edition (1740), and gave as its diagnosis “_Capra pedibus digito humane augustioribus_” with a reference to figure 3 of plate 43 of Seba’s ‘Thesaurus.’ In the 6th edition of the ‘Systema’ (1748) both diagnosis and reference are repeated word for word. But in 1754, when Linnæus prepared his catalogue of the Museum of King Adolphus Frederick just alluded to, besides describing a specimen of the Royal Antelope in that collection, to which he applies the diagnosis of the ‘Systema Naturæ’ given above, he mentions on the same page a second specimen under the name _Cervus guineensis_. This, as Sir Victor Brooke has shown, was evidently quite a different animal--probably a young of some small species of _Cephalophus_. Nevertheless, in the 10th edition of the ‘Systema Naturæ,’ published in 1758, Linnæus, regardless of the name _Capra perpusilla_ given in former publications, now attributes to the same species the new name _Capra pygmæa_, and also founds another species, “_Cervus guineensis_,” on the _Cervus griseus subtus nigricans_ of the “Museum Adolphi Frederici.” In the 12th edition of the ‘Systema’ (1766) these two species are united under the title _Moschus pygmæus_. It is, however, manifest from the diagnosis, and from his reference to Seba’s plate, that the “Royal Antelope” was the principal object in Linnæus’s mind when he founded his _Capra pygmæa_. There is also little doubt, as Sir Victor Brooke has shown, that the young specimen of the Royal Antelope which ultimately passed from Seba’s Museum to Leyden was the original of Seba’s figure, plate 43. fig. 3, and that the specimen of the same species that went to the Stockholm Museum was the original of Seba’s figure 1 of plate 43. Under these circumstances we can have no hesitation in following Sir Victor Brooke, and adopting the term _pygmæus_ of Linnæus as being the correct specific name of this Antelope. For its generic name we must use the term _Neotragus_, proposed by Hamilton Smith in 1827, as being unquestionably first in date, and the Royal Antelope thus becomes _Neotragus pygmæus_ in the scientific terminology of modern Natural History.

Skull of _Neotragus pygmæus_, ♂.

(P. Z. S. 1872, p. 642.)]

Pennant, in his ‘Synopsis of Quadrupeds,’ published in 1771, is perhaps the first author who called the present species the “Royal Antelope,” quoting first of all Bosman’s term “King of the Harts,” though he added to its synonyms references to other species which probably do not belong to it. Erxleben in 1777 based the name _Antilope regia_ upon nearly the same authorities, but this term, as we have already shown, was antedated by Linnæus’s _Capra pygmæa_. In 1827 Temminck applied the name _Antilope spinigera_ to the same animal, without, however, giving any description of it. Temminck’s name was employed by Sundevall in his excellent essay upon the _Pecora_, first published in 1846, when, however, he very unnecessarily created the new generic term _Nanotragus_ for this species, which, as already stated, had previously been called _Neotragus_ by Hamilton Smith. Sundevall took his description from an adult male specimen in the Leyden Museum, stating that he had also seen a female at Paris, but had mislaid his notes upon it.

The earliest specimens of _Neotragus pygmæus_ in the Leyden Museum, which consisted of two adult males and the skeleton of a female, were received in 1824 from the Dutch Factory on the Gold Coast.