CHAPTER XVIII 



THE GAZELLES AND THEIR ALLIES 

 Subfamily Antilopince 



The gazelles are typical of the subfamily Antilopince, 

 but with them are banded several peculiar or specialized 

 genera. In East Africa we have two of these, the elon- 

 gated, spidery gerenuk and the graceful, bush-haunting 

 impalla. The various members agree, however, in having 

 a large narial chamber, short nasal bones, and narrow cheek- 

 teeth, and by these characters they may be distinguished 

 from other antelopes. They are medium-sized antelopes 

 with slender legs, short tails, and usually short-haired coats, 

 showing fulvous or tawny coloration with black facial and 

 flank stripes. The females are hornless in many of the 

 genera and the mammae formula ranges from two to four. 

 They are typically an open-plains or desert stock with short, 

 narrow ears, but many of the members have taken to a life 

 in bushy areas while others have invaded high mountain 

 plateaux. The subfamily ranges from central Asia west- 

 ward to southeastern Europe and southward over the whole 

 of Africa except the Congo forest tract. Geologically, the 

 group has been represented since Miocene time in Asia 

 and Europe and in the Mediterranean region of Africa 

 since the Pliocene. 



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