LONNBERG, MAMMALS. 45 



are very variable and MATSCHIE has mentioned this himself saying: Der Ahstand 

 der Spitzen ist bei den verschiedenen Exemplaren sehr verschieden, von 1653 cm. ' 



The calfs are paler, sandy brown but their blackish markings are well de- 

 veloped. 



The Pallah antelopes were common in the thin acacia-woods at Ngare na 

 nyuki and on the more or less dense acacia-steppe at Ngare nairobi and on the 

 surrounding steppe as far as spiny bushes grew among the grass. Above all, however, 

 these beautiful animals lived in greater or smaller flocks in the open places between 

 the groups of bayonet plants (Sanseveria) and low acacias in such places where aca- 

 cias with wide crowns form thin woods.* 



When the animals suddenly get scared they jump as is well known in high 

 bounding leaps in different directions before they make their final escape. 



The 16th of January a herd of 30 40 animals was seen and among these was 

 only a single buck with fine horns, the others were halfgrown youngs and does. 



The female shot the 13 of Aug. had a big foetus in its uterus in another 

 gravid female shot the 26th of March the foetus measured about 30 cm. in length.* 



(SJOSTEDT). 



Gazella thomsoni GUNTHER. 



Gazella thomsoni GUNTHER. MATSCHIE, Saugethiere Ost-Afrikas, p. 130. 



Kilimandjaro: 1 <$ specimen from Ngare nairobi s /s 1905 - - 3 specimens (cf, cf, 

 ?) from the Kibonoto steppe resp. 27 /s and ''/ 1905 - 1 cf specimen from the steppe 

 at the river Kiraragua, Oct. 1905 - Mern: 2 specimens a buck and a quite young 

 kid, from the steppe at Ngare na Nyuki 17 /io 1905. Prof. SJOSTEDT has remarked 

 aboiit this little kid that it ran with very great speed in spite of its youth. 

 Another kid from the same locality 28 /m 1905. 



The authors of the Book of Antelopes write about this species: > - a black 



patch present on the top of the muzzle. In none of the specimens recorded above 

 there is any black patch to be seen, but two specimens shew a faint dusky stripe on 

 the place mentioned. 



From these facts it might be concluded that there were two different varieties 

 of Gazella thomsoni, one from the Kilimandjaro district without or with only faint 

 traces of a dark spot on top of the muzzle, and another from a more northern 

 district in British East Africa with a black patch on the place mentioned. The 

 former must be the type, as GtiNTHER named the species on specimens from the 

 Kilimandjaro district, and the one with the black patch should be provided with a 

 trinomial name, if it really represented a geographical subspecies. To make sure 

 about this I took the liberty of writing to my friend Mr. OLDFIELD THOMAS and 

 asked him whether the specimens of Gazella thomsoni from British East Africa con- 

 stantly possessed the black patch on top of the muzzle and if the material in Brit. 

 Museum (Nat. Hist.) indicated that the characteristic mentioned was of subspecific 

 name. In his kind reply Mr. THOMAS said that he could not with full certainty 



