ANTELOPES. 281 



spiral, straight, or recurved. The muzzle is covered with hair, and there is no 

 gland below the eye; while the skull has no depression below the socket of the 

 eye, and but a very narrow unossified space in the same region. The tail is long 

 and tufted, and the upper molar teeth resemble those of the oxen, having very tall 

 and broad crowns, with a large additional column on the inner side. It is probable 

 that this group is very closely related to the oxen ; and all the members are desert- 

 liaunting animals. 



The addax, which is an inhabitant of North Africa and Arabia, has the horns 

 ringed for the greater part of their length, and ascending in an open spiral nearly 

 in the plane of the face. In height this antelope stands a little over 3 feet, and 

 the greater part of the body is covered with short and thick hair. There is, 

 however, a tuft of long hair on the forehead and a mane extending down the neck 

 to the shoulders, and also a fringe of long hair on the throat. The general colour 

 is yellowish white, in marked contrast to which is the brown of the head, neck, and 

 mane. There is a transverse white band below the eyes, while the lips and a spot 

 on the outer surface of the ears are also white. In the males the long hair is more 

 abundant and darker in colour than in the other sex, and during the winter the 

 yellowish white of the body tends to grey. The horns attain a length of from 20 

 to 28 inches in a straight line, and from 26 to 35 J along the spiral. 

 Distribution and The range of the addax in Africa lies to the northward of the 



Habits. 18th parallel of north latitude, and, like the gemsbok, the animal 

 inhabits barren, sandy deserts, where water is scarce. It is a shy and wary creature, 

 and is doubtless able to go for long periods without slaking its thirst. Our accounts 

 of its habits are far from full, but its general mode of life is probably very similar 

 to that of the gemsbok. The addax is hunted by the Bedouins, partly for the sake 

 of its flesh, partly in order to capture the young, and also to test the speed of their 

 horses and greyhounds. Large hunting-parties are assembled for this purpose, and 

 the expeditions may last for several weeks. The skeleton of the addax is figured 

 on p. 268. 



Oryx. 



Genus Oryx. 



Under the title of oryx may be included five species of antelope, distinguished 

 from the addax by their straight or recurved horns, their longer and more bushy 

 tails, the small size of the mane on the neck, and by the throat being either short- 

 haired or furnished with a single tuft of long hair. The horns, which are of great 

 length, slope backwards more or less nearly in the plane of the face. Oryx are 

 found throughout the desert regions of Africa, and also range into Arabia and 

 Syria. 



Commencing with South Africa, we find the group represented 

 by the gemsbok {Oryx gazella), characterised by its long straight 

 horns, ringed for about half their length, the tuft of hair on the throat, and the 

 black markings on the head, body, and limbs. The gemsbok stands about 4 feet 

 in height, ami its general colour is greyish, becoming white beneath. A black stripe 

 on the flanks divides the grey of the sides from the white below, and there is also a 



