466 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



those of the bongo, this animal being much less specialized 

 than the common plains eland, which has lost much of its 

 bush coloration and the broad ears which are a mark of such 

 environment. 



The skull characters of the Nile race are not determina- 

 ble at the present time, owing to lack of skulls of the typical 

 race from Senegal for comparison. In skull formation the 

 species differs greatly from its nearest ally, the common 

 eland. It is an eland by horn shape and bodily proportions 

 only, its skull structure being quite similar to that of the 

 bongo and bushbuck. In agreement with the two latter, it 

 has the short nasal and premaxillary bones and the wide 

 lachrymal bone so distinctive of them. In the common 

 eland these bones are greatly lengthened, giving the animal 

 an elongate snout. The Nile eland is intermediate between 

 the bongo and the common eland in both color and skull 

 characters. These differences in structure and color have 

 no doubt been brought about by the gradual effect of the 

 plains environment on the common eland which has for- 

 saken its ancient bush habitat and browsing habits for the 

 open plains and a grass diet. Its coloration has reacted to 

 this change in environment by becoming paler, less striped, 

 and less spotted; its ears have grown narrow; the muzzle 

 has become more elongate; the hoofs have lost their pointed 

 character and become broad; and the forehead has de- 

 veloped a great bushy mat of hair. 



In size the giant eland is practically equalled by the com- 

 mon eland. The subspecific name has reference chiefly to 

 the much greater length of the horns, which were the only 

 available part of the animal for comparison at the time the 

 race was named. The neck is considerably larger and deeper 

 and the body somewhat longer than the common eland, which 

 it exceeds but slightly in size. In the flesh the largest male 

 measured 9 feet 2 inches in length of head and body; the 

 tail had a length of 28 inches; the height at the shoulder 

 was 5 feet 8 inches; the greatest girth of the neck was 5 feet 

 6 inches and the girth of the chest immediately behind the 

 foreleg was 8 feet. The adult female nearly equalled these 

 dimensions in length and height but was much less in girth 

 of neck and chest or bulk of body. The skull of the old 

 male, which is the largest, measures in greatest length 18^ 



