280 ANTILOPINyE. 



Hodgson separated tte Indian gazelle under the generic name of 

 Tragops, but on erroneous grounds, as the eye-pits (on the absence of 

 •which he grounded his genus) are present, though small. 



229. Gazella Bennettii. 



Antilope apud Sykes, Cat. — Blyth, Cat. 533. — A. Arahica apud 

 Elliot, Cat. 55. — A. Dorcas, var. Sundevall. — A. Christii, Gray 1 — 

 A. Hazenna, Is. Geoffroy, Yoy. Jacquemont, Zool. pi. YI. — Chikdra, 

 H., throughout India. — Kal-pitnch, H. and Kal-sipi, Mahr., i. e. black- 

 tail. — Tiska, Can. ; also Buddri and Mudari, Can. — Burudu-jinka, Tel. 

 — Porsya, male, and Chdri, female, of Baoris. — Hazenne, near Chittor 

 in Malwa (Jacquemont). — Ravine-deer of sportsmen in Bengal. — Goat- 

 antelope in Bombay and Madras. 



The Indian Gazelle. 



Descr, — Colour above deep fawn-brown, darker where it joins the 

 white on the sides and buttocks ; chin, breast, lower parts and buttocks 

 behind white ; tail, knee-tufts, and fetlocks behind black ; a dark-brown 

 spot on the nose, and a dark line from the eyes to the mouth, bordered 

 by a light one above. 



Length of a buck 3| feet ; tail 8| inches ; height 26 inches at 

 shoulder, 28 at the croup ; ear 6 inches ; head 9 ; horns 12 to 13. 



The horns vary much in thickness and lyration. I have seen several 

 14 inches long with 23 rings ; but Adams states that he has seen them in 

 the Punjab 18 inches ;* as a rule very few exceed 14 inches, and most are 

 below this. The tip sometimes curves much forward. The horns of the 

 female are small, rarely longer than 6 inches, usually 4to 5, slender, slightly 

 wrinkled at the base, inclining backwards, with the tip bent forwards. 



The Indian Gazelle is found throughout India in suitable localities, 

 unknown in lower Bengal and the Malabar coast, and most abundant in 

 the desert parts of Rajpootana, Hurriana, and Sindh. It is never found 

 in forest country, nor in districts having a damp climate, but is often met 

 with in low thorny jungle. As a rule, however, it prefers the open bare 

 plains, or low rocky hills or sand-hills ; and a barren country to a richly 

 cultivated one. It occurs generally in small herds, rarely more than 7 

 or 8, except in the extreme north-west, where I have seen 20 or more 



* I think there must be some mistake in this, either that the measurement is 

 wrong, or that a different speciei is meant. 



