BOVID/E 



337 



both from South Africa. The former, or Brindled Gnu, is distin- 

 guished by the absence of long hair on the face, the black (instead 

 of Avhite) tail, and the presence of dark vertical streaks on the 

 shoulders ; it is never found to the south of the Orange River. 



The White -tailed Gnu stands about 4 feet 6 inches at the 

 withers. These animals were formerly found in large herds, and 

 are remarkable not only on account of their peculiar form, but also 

 for their grotesque actions when alarmed. Some interesting 

 observations have recently been published upon the mode of 



FIG. 139. The White-tailed Gnu (Cowudueta gnu). 



development of the horns of the Gnu, 1 from which it appears that 

 in very young individuals the horns are straight and divergent, 

 situated some distance below the vertex of the head, and separated 

 by a wide hairy interval. These young horns form the straight 

 tips of those of the adult, the basal downwardly curved portion 

 being subsequently developed. In the fully adult animal the base 

 of the horns forms a helmet -like mass on the forehead which 

 completely obliterates the hairy frontal space of the young. 



Cephalophine Section. Small or medium -sized African and 

 Indian Antelopes, with simple horns present only in the males, a 

 more or less elongated suborbital gland, a lachrymal depression 

 in the skull, and square-crowned upper molars (Fig. 140). Lateral 

 hoofs well developed. 



1 F. E. Blaauw, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1889, p. 2. 

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