DA MA GAZELLE 269 



Oscar Neumann, in the Sitzungs-Berichte Ges. Naturfor. Berlin for 1906, 

 p. 240, has proposed to regard all three as referable to a single variable 

 species, for which the name Gazella dama, as the earliest, should be 

 adopted. He adds that the three giant gazelles, namely Grant's, 

 Sommerring's, and the dama, appear to be nearly related to the South 

 African springbuck. 



The dama, in this wider sense, is the largest of all the gazelles, 

 standing from 36 to 37 inches at the shoulder, and is further 

 characterised by the white of the rump including the whole of, or all 

 but the tip of, the tail, coupled with the absence of a black band to 

 the rump-patch and of a dark flank-band, the large extent of white 

 on the limbs, and the mainly forward direction of the terminal hook 

 of the horns of the bucks, which are relatively short and massive, the 

 maximum recorded length being 14^ inches. 



The range of the species includes a large extent of the desert 

 districts of central North Africa from Senegambia to Kordofan and 

 Sennar. 



The mhorr, or Morocco race (G. d. mliorr], of southern Morocco, has 

 the largest extent of fawn-area. The face has a median rufous streak, 

 and a blackish streak on each side below the eye, while there is a 

 rufous patch between the horns. The rufous of the back is continued 

 down the thighs along the outer sides of the hind-legs, and also 

 extends down the front surface of the front pair. 



In the Senegambian race, described by Mr. O. Neumann in the 

 paper already cited as G. d. permista, the general type of colouring 

 is very similar to that of mhorr ^ but the rufous is more restricted in 

 extent. Thus the white of the rump extends forwards along the sides 

 of the body in a wedge, so as to leave only a narrow bridge connecting 

 the rufous of the dorsal saddle with that of the thigh. In the fore- 

 legs the upper part is wholly white, but the front surface below the 

 knee is rufous. The dorsal saddle is also smaller than in mJtorr, 

 extending only about half-way down the sides of the body. The whole 

 region of the nose is white, and there is only a faint dark (not blackish) 

 streak below the eye ; while there are only a few rufous hairs between 

 the horns. In some individuals almost the whole head is white, the 

 eye-streak being absent. 



The typical race (G. d. typica\ of which the locality is not definitely 

 known, although it may be the Lake Tchad district, would appear to 

 be very similar to the under-mentioned ruficollis, but darker in colour, 

 with a greater extension of the dorsal saddle. 



Next we have the addra, or Kordofan race (G. d. ruficollis}, also 



