CLARKE'S GAZELLE 

 Ammordorcas clarkei, Thos. 



Somalifname, Dibatag 



Description. — This interesting animal was discovered by 

 T. W. H. Clarke in 1890, and is one of the most peculiar of the 

 Somaliland antelopes. The general colour is slaty-grey with a 

 pinkish tinge in it, especially on the flanks. When the sun is 

 shining on them the colour appears to be light bluish-grey, 

 rendering them very difficult to see when standing motionless in 

 the dried-up country in which they are commonly found. Immedi- 

 ately they turn and run off with tails erect, they are easily seen 

 owing to their white buttocks. On the face there is a frontal and 

 nasal chestnut patch, on each side of which is a white band. 

 There is also a patch of white on the throat. The tail is almost 

 entirely black. 



Dibatag are smaller and lighter than gerenuk, and can easily 

 be distinguished from them. Only the males possess horns. The 

 horns, which are ringed for about half their extent, pass directly 

 backwards, upwards, and slightly outwards ; then, taking rather 

 a sudden bend, travel upwards, forwards, and outwards. They 

 seldom diverge much at the tips, 4 to 5 in. being the rule — a head 

 in my possession, however, is as much as j^^ in. from tip to tip. 



The most noticeable features about this antelope are its long 

 neck, flat skull, and long tail, which it always erects when running. 

 The ears of the gerenuk and dibatag differ — the former's being 

 pointed, while the latter's are rounded at the tips. 



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