548 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



and Pediotragus (Raphicertis), placing Neotragus {Madoqud) 

 in with the gazelles in the family Antilopidcs and Oreotragus, 

 the klipspringer, in another family, HeliotragincB, together 

 with Kobus, the waterbucks, and Tetraceros, the four-horned 

 antelopes. 



This grouping by Gray is a more natural arrangement 

 than that adopted by later authors, for Madoqua or the dik- 

 dik is obviously, as witnessed by its skull characters, more 

 closely related to the gazelles than to any other of the 

 genera with which it has been placed. Oreotragus, however, 

 though quite distinct in general characters from its asso- 

 ciates in the Neotragincs, is certainly not an ally of A"o/^i^j or 

 Tetraceros. 



In 1907 Knottnerus-Meyer removed from this assem- 

 blage Raphicerus and Grysbock {Nototragiis) for which he 

 formed the subfamily Raphicerotince, which he based upon 

 differences in the lachrymal bone, but left the other genera 

 assembled together as arranged by Sclater and Thomas. 

 We do not, however, consider the somewhat smaller size of 

 the anteorbital fossa in the steinboks of sufficient system- 

 atic importance to justify the erection of a subfamily for the 

 group. As the steinbok differs but little from the other 

 genera included in the Neotragina, our ideas of their relation- 

 ships are best expressed by leaving them in the subfamily. 



In order to show the true relationships of the various 

 genera under consideration it is necessary to remove the very 

 distinct Madoqua and Rhynchotragus and place them in a 

 new subfamily near Aniilopince and also place Oreotragus in 

 a separate subfamily owing to its peculiar skull and hair 

 characters. Such an arrangement will give us the following 

 natural groups or subfamilies: 



Nesotragincs: Snout normal, premaxillae long, and in con- 

 tact with the nasal bones which are well developed; ante- 

 orbital fossa well developed, usually exceeding the orbit 

 in size. Genera included: Nesotragus, Neotragus, Ourebia, 

 Raphicerus, Nototragiis. 



Oreotragince: Snout somewhat shortened, the nasals very 

 broad and extensive in area, anteorbital fossa large as in 

 Nesotragincs; pelage peculiar, coarse, and pithy like that of 

 the American prong-horn, Antilocapra. Only one genus in- 

 cluded, Oreotragus, the klipspringer. 



