ROAN, SABLE, AND ORYX 327 



Europe, and two from Algeria. Horn cores have been dis- 

 covered in the Phocene formation of Nebraska which evi- 

 dently belonged to an antelope allied to this group, but 

 there is no further American evidence. The genus is one 

 of the very oldest and most wide-spread of antelopes, and is 

 no doubt one of the least specialized of the living forms, as 

 evidenced by the absence of lachrymal glands or speciali- 

 zation in the facial bones. 



Key to the Species of Egoceros 



Horns not gready exceeding the head in length; ears very long, ex- 

 ceeding lo inches; body color a brownish roan 

 in both sexes equinus 



Horns greatly exceeding the head in length; ears shorter, not exceed- 

 ing 8 inches; male usually dark seal-brown or 

 black, female ranging from tawny to seal-brown 



niger 



Roan Antelope 



Egoceros equinus 



Range. — The whole of Ethiopia from the Sahara Desert 

 south as far as the Orange River, in South Africa; absent 

 only from the Congo forest region. 



The roan antelope is distinguishable from the sable by 

 its conspicuous difference in color and by its shorter horns 

 and somewhat larger body size. The color in both sexes 

 is a cinnamon drab or roan varying somewhat in shade in 

 the several geographical races. Four races are recognizable 

 by slight differences in color and size: the typical race of 

 South Africa is the darkest; farther north, in German and 

 British East Africa, we meet with another, langheldi; west- 

 ward the Nile Valley is occupied by bakeri, while in the 

 extreme west, in Senegal, occurs the lightest and smallest 

 race, gambianus. The skull, compared with that of the sa- 

 ble, has a much smaller nasal-lachrymal sinus, which is 

 sometimes lacking entirely; the nasal bones are convex on 

 the sides, and the occipital region is much longer. 



This big antelope, second in size only to the eland, has 

 a very wide and curiously broken distribution, extending 

 from the Blue Nile and Lake Chad to far south of the 



