506 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



SWAHILI WaTERBUCK 



Kohus ellipsiprymnus kuru 



Native Name: Swahili, kuru. 



Kobiis ellipsiprymnus kuruWeWe.]:, 1913, Smith. Misc. Coll., vol. 61, No. 13, p. 6. 



Range. — Coast district from the Tana River southward 

 along the coast into German East Africa and westward 

 along the larger watercourses to Kilimanjaro. 



The race of the common waterbuck inhabiting the coast 

 district of British and German East Africa has recently 

 been described from specimens collected at Taveta by Doc- 

 tor W. L. Abbott. The waterbuck mentioned by such early 

 explorers of the coast district as Hildebrandt and Fischer 

 refer to this race. Willoughby, Jackson, and several other 

 sportsmen have given accounts of this race. The Swahili 

 waterbuck is closely allied to thikce of the Athi Plains, but 

 differs from this race by its darker, sepia-brown color, 

 darker-brown legs, and lighter-colored snout, which shows 

 little contrast to the color of the forehead. 



The color of the median dorsal region is uniform dark- 

 brown or warm sepia, with the sides lighter, deep brownish- 

 drab in color. The breast is drab and the belly whitish. The 

 white stripe on the hind quarters is not continuous across 

 the rump, but is broad and distinct on the sides. The tail 

 is sepia like the back, the tip very little darker, and the 

 under side has a narrow line of white. The legs from the 

 knees and the hocks are uniform sepia-brown, and darker 

 than the sides. There is a white fringe above the hoofs and 

 the false hoofs. The neck is somewhat lighter than the 

 body, being dark brownish-drab, but the nape is uniform in 

 color with the throat. There is a whitish blotch on the 

 upper throat. The sides of the head are like the neck in 

 color. The dorsal surface of the snout is sepia-brown, but 

 contrasts very little with the more reddish cinnamon-brown 

 forehead. The rhinarium of the snout is bordered by a 

 white band and the lips and chin are white. There is also 

 a broad white area at the front angle of the eye about two 

 inches long. The area about the eyes and the back of the 

 ears is ochraceous-tawny. The tips of the ears are sepia- 

 brown, and the inside is white. 



