THE MHORR GAZELLE 83 



even in coloration, since all three animals have 

 the neck rufous, with a white spot on the throat, 

 and all are more deeply coloured anteriorly than 

 behind. The mhorr would appear to be exactly 

 intermediate as regards coloration. On one hand 

 stands the richly- marked dama, in which the white 

 areas have their fullest development, as marked by 

 the junction of the white of abdomen and rump : 

 on the other is the pallid G. ruficollis, whose coat 

 in typical specimens hardly shows any contrast 

 at all, save on the neck and back, the rest 

 of its pelage being dominated almost entirely 

 by white. It is a significant fact that the mhorr 

 is also intermediate in geographical range, as 

 if the ancestors of these gazelles, in migrating 

 westwards, had gradually assumed a darker 

 coat, in lieu of their original pale one,^ thus 

 affording an illustration of the fact that many 

 widely-distributed forms assume a more or less 

 rufous colour in West Africa. 



The mhorr gazelle was first brought alive to 

 England in 1833, when a pair, captured near 

 Wed Noon or Oued Noon, was presented to the 

 Zoological Gardens by Mr. E. W. A. Drummond 

 Hay : the male of this pair is now in the National 

 collection. Although these specimens were care- 



1 On the other hand, the red-necked gazelle may have lost its 

 former deep colouring : several desert-haunting animals, such as the 

 addax antelope, are protected by their pale coats, which harmonise 

 with the shimmeiing glare of the sand. 



