152 MAMMALIA ORDER VL UNGULATA. 



of South Africa is a larger uniformly-coloured animal, with small, compressed, 

 upright, and scarcely diverging horns placed over the eyes, a large bare part 

 to the muzzle, and no depression in the skull below the latter. It is an in- 

 habitant of open, sandy districts, and may be compared in size to a fallow- 

 deer. Still larger is the handsome water-buck and its allies, constituting 

 the genus Cobus, characterised by the long sub-lyrate horns of the males, 

 which are ringed nearly throughout their length, the large portion of the 

 muzzle that is devoid of hair, the deep hollow in the forehead of the 

 skull and the absence of a depression below the eye, the gland being 

 rudimental. The tail is long, ridged with hair above, and tufted at the end ; 

 and the colour of the fur uniform. In most species the hair is long and 

 coarse ; and all frequent the neighbourhood of water. The three representa- 

 tives of the allied genus Cervicapra may be distinguished by the short and 

 bushy tail ; and also by the circumstance that the premaxillary bones, which 

 from the extremity of the muzzle, do not extend upwards to join the nasals. 

 The best known of these is the South African reitbok (C. arundineum), which 

 stands nearly a yard at the withers, and is of grizzled ochre colour. 



The typical, or Antilopine, section is also a large one, and includes the 

 gazelles and certain allied forms which are mostly inhabitants of sandy or 

 desert districts. The horns, w r hich are usually restricted to the males, are 

 generally either compressed and lyrate or recurved, or cylindrical and spiral, 

 with well-marked rings on their lower portion. The muzzle is covered with 

 short hairs ; the short or moderate tail is compressed arid hairy on its upper 

 surface ; and the upper molars are narrow, and resemble those of the sheep. In 

 the skull there are generally large pits in the forehead, and a depression below 

 the eye. Perhaps the handsomest member of the group is the Indian black- 

 buck (Antilope cervicapra), which is the sole representative of its genus, and 

 easily recognised by the deep blackish hue of the back and head of the adult 

 males, and the beautiful spirally-twisted and ringed horns ; the gland below 

 the eye being very large. The pala (dEpyccros) and its other African allies 

 have the horns compressed, widely divergent, and ringed only at the base ; 

 and differ from the black buck by the absence of a gland on the face, and of 

 lateral hoofs to the feet. A clumsily-built and somewhat sheep-like antelope 

 from the Asiatic steppes, known as the saiga (Saiga tatarica\ is one of two 

 genera characterised by the large and puffy muzzle, this feature being most 

 developed in the present form, in which the nostrils open downwards. 

 There is a small gland on the face, lateral hoofs are present, and the female 

 lias four teats. In the males the horns are short, lyrate, ringed, and yellow 

 in colour. The Tibetan chiru (Pantholops hodysoni) differs from the last in 

 the nostrils opening anteriorly, and in the form of the horns ; the latter 

 being very long, erect, compressed, sublyrate, and ringed in front for two- 

 thirds in length, while their colour is deep black. There is no gland on the 

 face, and the female has only two teats. These beautiful antelopes are found 

 in herds on some of the most elevated regions in the world. The largest 

 genus of the group (Gazella) is represented by the beautiful gazelles, which 

 are mainly confined to the desert regions of Africa and Asia, although the 

 aberrant springbok is found on the plains of the Cape Colony and adjacent 

 districts. All the gazelles are noticeable for their elegant build, and their 

 more or less sandy coloration, while the majority differ from the foregoing 

 members of the section in that horns are developed by both sexes. Nearly 

 all the species are characterised by having a white streak, bordered by a dark 

 line, running down the face from each horn to the nostril, so as to isolate a 



