CHAPTER XIX 



THE DIKDIKS 



Subfamily Rhynchotragince 



The dikdiks are antelopes of very small size, having the 

 snout produced into a short proboscis and the anteorbital 

 gland of large size and opening by a circular orifice on the 

 face. The tail is rudimentary, and less than two inches 

 long. The male alone is horned. The horns are short, 

 ringed, and project backward in a line with the profile of 

 the snout. The female has four mammae. The hoofs are 

 slender and the false hoofs are minute. The coloration of 

 the sexes is alike, but the tuft of long hair on the forehead 

 is decidedly coarser and denser in the male. The color pat- 

 tern of the young at birth is identical to that of the adults. 

 The female is distinctly larger than the male. The skull 

 has the anterior narial opening greatly enlarged to accom- 

 modate the proboscis, which is brought about partially by 

 the nasal bones being much reduced, their length being not 

 greater than their width. The premaxillae are very slender 

 in the typical genus, and reduced so that they do not extend 

 more than half-way to the nasal bones. The anteorbital 

 fossae are much enlarged to accommodate the large ante- 

 orbital glands. Young skulls in which the first molars are 

 just erupting show well-developed upper canine teeth, but 

 these are absorbed again by the time the second molars are 

 erupted. Similar canine teeth are found in Gazella at the 



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