COMMON DUIKER 153 



Horns of Common Duiker. From a specimen shot by Mr. F. C. Selous. 



COMMON DUIKER (Cephalophus grimini). 



Puti of the Bechuanas. Impungi of the Swazis and Zulus. 



Impunzi of the Matabele. Imputi of the Basutos. 



Gwapi of the Chinyanjas. Gudda of the Hausas. 



The common duiker, or " diver," is the southern representative of an 

 extensive group of small or medium-sized antelopes, mostly confined 

 to Africa, but also containing one genus and species from India. In 

 all of these the muzzle is naked ; face-glands of a more or less elon- 

 gated form are present, as are lateral hoofs ; the tail is of medium 

 length, the knees have no tufts of long hair, and the females are pro- 

 vided with four teats. The horns, which are short and straight, are 

 generally present in both sexes, but are smoother and more slender in 

 the does than in the bucks ; and the upper cheek-teeth have low 

 crowns, with square grinding surfaces. The African duikers have a 

 single pair of horns, generally present in both sexes, and more or less 

 hidden by a tuft of long hairs growing from the crown of the head ; 

 and the face-glands are arranged to form a bare line of pores on each 

 side of the muzzle. The present species the true duikerbok is the 

 largest member of a group of three duikers, characterised by the horns 

 (usually absent in the females) inclining upwards at a sharp angle 

 above the plane of the profile of the nose. Other features of the sub- 

 group are the long and pointed ears, the general yellowish or grayish 

 colour, devoid of dark markings, save for a brown nose-spot. Although 

 essentially a southern form, the common duiker, which measures 

 about 23 inches at the shoulder, ranges on the west coast as far north 

 as Angola, and on the eastern side of the continent to British East 

 Africa and Somaliland. Weight about 30 Ibs. Throughout its habitat 

 the timid duiker is to be met with wherever sufficient covert exists ; 

 and its furtive, squatting, dodging habits are most aptly indicated by 

 its name. Met with either singly or in pairs, it is never found far 



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