ORIBI 169 



marvellous agility of these antelopes is most apparent, as they will 

 race up the smooth face of slippery rocks, so steep that no other 

 animal than a baboon could find a footing." 



In Somaliland, according to Mr. J. D. Inverarity, klipspringers 

 frequent the Golis range, and are generally seen at the tops of the 

 ridges of the hills where there are large boulders. They may, indeed, 

 be seen sometimes in the bush low down in a ravine, but as a rule 

 they are near the rocks. As an old male shot by this sportsman 

 measured only 18 inches at the shoulder, and 3 feet from the tip of 

 the nose to the end of the tail, the Somali klipspringer may be smaller 

 than the typical Cape animal. 



THE ORIBI 



(Oribia scoparia J ) 



Onribikje, CAPE DUTCH ; lula, ZULU, SWAZI, AND MATONGA ; 

 Pulukudukamani, TRANSVAAL BASUTO ; Chisimbi (in common 

 with other small antelopes), LOWER ZAMBESI. 



(PLATE vi, fig. 9) 



The oribis, the largest representatives of the Neotragince, have, in 

 common with the following genera, the hair and hoofs of normal form 

 and structure ; while the extremity of the muzzle is naked, and the 

 crown of the head carries no tuft of hair. As special characteristics 

 of the oribis may be noticed the existence of a bare glandular spot 

 beneath each car, the presence of lateral hoofs, and the large size of 

 the pits in the skull for the reception of the face -glands. Tufts of 

 hair are developed on the knees, and the short tail generally has a 

 black tip. The horns, which arc about one -fourth shorter than the 

 skull, slant backwards, and show considerable specific variation in the 

 degree of development of the basal ridging. 



In the true, or Cape, oribi, the horns, like those of all the other 

 species except Oribia Jiaggardi, are relatively slender, and slightly ridged 

 for a distance of some two inches above the base. The species, which 

 is yellow-fawn colour above and white below, sometimes with a rufous 

 tinge on the back, is further characterised by the presence of a blackish 

 patch on the forehead between the horns, and also by the tufted and 

 moderately long tail having its terminal two-thirds black. The shouldcr- 



1 Also known as Oin-ebia oureki. 



