GIRAFFE 357 



both sexes are white, or nearly so. When describing the skeleton of 

 the type female, Mr. Thomas was of opinion that the lengths of the 

 skull and of the hind cannon-bone indicated an unusually tall race. 

 This, however, is not borne out by the corresponding bones of the 

 male. The skull of the latter is, for example, not markedly larger 

 than that of a Nubian giraffe of the same approximate age ; while the 

 hind cannon-bone is practically the same length as in the type female 

 skeleton, and both are scarcely longer than the corresponding bone in 

 a skeleton of a male Nubian giraffe in the British Museum. The 

 skull shows no marked difference from that of the Nubian giraffe, with 

 which it agrees in the comparatively slight development of the 

 rudimentary occipital horns. The main horns are smaller and more 

 slender, and the ridge between them is perhaps somewhat less elevated ; 

 while the anterior horn is remarkable for the length and rugosity of its 

 base. As regards colouring, the most striking feature of the Nigerian 

 giraffe is its paleness, especially on the head and neck. This paleness 

 is much more marked than in even immature bulls of the Nubian race, 

 and the whole head may be said to be whitish, relieved by pale fawn 

 spots on the side of the face below the line of the eye, and by a dash 

 of still paler (sandy) fawn on the forehead and the middle line of the 

 face. Two irregular blotches of darker fawn immediately behind each 

 nostril are conspicuous : these also occur in the Nubian giraffe, but 

 agree in colour with, and are joined to, the darker fawn of the middle 

 line of the face. 



The pale-faced, or white -faced, giraffe would be a better name 

 for this race than peralta, which is misleading. 



On the neck the blotches are somewhat darker fawn on a whity- 

 brown ground. These blotches are very large, few in number, and 

 separated by wide interspaces, so that the pattern can scarcely be 

 described as of the " netted " type. In shape the blotches are irregular 

 and elongated, and at their edges shade almost imperceptibly into the 

 ground-colour. They are different in size and disposition from those 

 of the Nubian giraffe. The occipital region is white, with a few 

 large spots ; and below the ears is a large fawn blotch covering an 

 area which in the Nubian giraffe is white, and in all other giraffes 

 marked with small spots. 



As regards the body-skin, the spots on the back are pale chestnut- 

 brown, with trefoil-shaped dark brown centres. Towards the hind- 

 quarters the colour of the spots gradually lightens, and on the 

 hind-limbs it becomes very pale fawn. The spots on the back are 

 darker than in a male of G. c. typica shown in Proc. Zool. Soc. for 



