8;8 



THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



or 



the middle of the forehead, while the streak itself is bordered externally by a 

 diffused dark line.* The horns, which are generally present in both sexes, are lyrate 

 recurved and are compressed, oval in section, and completely ringed throughout 



trie greater part of their length. 

 The knees are generally furnished 

 with tufts of hair. Glands are 

 present in the feet, and the gland 

 below the eye, if present, is small 

 and covered with hair. Most of the 

 gazelles do not exceed thirty inches 

 in height, although the mohr 

 reaches thirty-six inches. There 

 are about twenty -one living species 

 belonging to the genus Gazella, 

 which are mainly found in the des- 

 erts of Asia and North Africa, 

 although the group is represented 

 in South Africa by the springbok. 

 Two of the Asiatic species are found 

 at great elevations. Several species 

 of fossil gazelles occur in the Pleis- 

 tocene and Pliocene deposits of both 

 Europe and India. 



The existing gazelles may be 

 divided into several groups accord- 

 ing to coloration and the presence 

 or absence of horns in the females, 

 and, since the species are so num- 

 erous, we shall content ourselves 

 with selecting one from each group 

 for special notice. 

 Our first representative of the genus is the South- African springbok 

 ( Gazella euchore) , which differs from all the other species by the pres- 

 ence of a stripe of long white erectile hairs running down the middle of the back, 

 and also by having only two premolar teeth in the lower jaw. Both sexes are horned. 

 In height the springbok stands about thirty inches, and the black horns are lyrate, 

 with about twenty complete rings, and in the males attain a length of from ten to 

 fifteen inches. The general color is dark cinnamon yellow, but there is a dark 

 brown stripe on the flanks dividing the cinnamon color of the sides from the white 

 of the under parts, and a dark streak running through the eye. The general dis- 

 tribution of the white is shown in our figure, but it may be remarked that there is 

 more white on the face than in any other species, the dark central area of the fore- 

 head being reduced to a small patch below the horns. The snow-white hairs on the 

 back have a length of three or four inches. 



* These markings are absent in the Tibetan gazelle. 



HEAD OF GRANT'S GAZELLE. 

 (From Sir V. Brooke, Pt-oc. Zool. Soc., 1878.) 



