Riippell's Travels in North Africa. 389 



" supra isabellino, infra albescente ; auriculis nudis capite longioribus." 

 This latter differs both in colour and size from the Lep. ^gi/ptius, Geoflf., 

 which was also obtained in abundance, and specimens of which from 

 Abyssinia agreed in every respect with those taken in the Fayoimi. 



To our knowledge of the Camelopardalis Giraffa, Linn., M. Riippell 

 has added considerably. He obtained in Nubia and Kordofan five speci- 

 mens, two of which were males and three females ; and states that it 

 lives in small herds in all the desert steppes south of Simrie, is plentiful 

 in Darfur, and is even found to the east of the Bahr-el-Azrek. He re- 

 gards the horns as constituting the principal generic character ; they 

 being formed by distinct bones, united to the frontal and parietal bones 

 by a very obvious suture, and having throughout the same structure with 

 the other bones. In both sexes one of these abnormal bones is situated 

 on each branch of the coronal suture, and the male possesses an additi- 

 onal one placed more anteriorly, and occupying the middle of the 

 frontal suture. The anomalous position of this appendage furnishes a 

 complete refutation of the theory of Camper with regard to the Unicorn, 

 that such an occurrence was contrary to nature, and proves at least the 

 possibility of the existence of such an animal. Some information on 

 this much debated subject was obtained by M. Riippel in Kordofan, where 

 the Unicorn was said to be known, and to bear the name of Nillekma. 

 Persons of various conditions in life agreed in the statement that the 

 Nillekma was of a reddish colour, of the size of a small horse, of the 

 slender make of a Gazelle, and furnished with a long, straight, slender 

 horn in the male, which was wanting in the female. Some added that 

 it had divided hoofs, while others declared it to be single-hoofed. 

 According to these statements it inhabits the deserts to the South of 

 Kordofan, is uncommonly fleet, and comes only occasionally to the 

 Koldagi Slave Mountain on the borders of Kordofan. Three several 

 Arabs asserted to M. Riippell that they had themselves seen the animal 

 in question ; and one of his slaves from Koldagi, on seeing the Ante- 

 lopes brought from the desert of Korti, gave, of his own free motion, 

 a description of the Nillekma, exactly coinciding with the notices after- 

 wards obtained by the traveller. He had eaten of it in his ovm country, 

 and described it as a very beautiful animal. Of the veracity of this 

 slave M. Riippell had frequent proofs, especially in the descriptions of 



