46 MR. P. L. SCLATER ON THE LESSER KOODOO. [Feb. 5, 



to the Lesser Koodoo of Blyth, of the existence of which in Somali- 

 land (whence the specimens in question had been obtained) I had 

 heard from Sir John Kirk and other authorities, although I had 

 never seen a living example of the species, and was not quite certain 

 of its validity. The male of this pair of Antelopes having died 

 shortly afterwards, its body was kindly sent to me entire by M. 

 Comely ; and I have now the pleasure of exhibiting to the meeting a 

 mounted specimen of this rare and beautiful Antelope (see Plate IV.), 

 concerning which I propose to offer a few remarks. 



The Lesser Koodoo was first discriminated as a species by Blyth 

 in a paper read before this Society in January 1869 l . Blyth pointed 

 out that the Lesser Koodoo differed from the larger and better known 

 form (Strepsiceros kudu) in its smaller size, in the absence of the 

 fringe of long hair down the neck in front, and in the much more 

 compressed spiral of the curvature of the horns. From the second 

 of these characteristics, he proposed to call the species Strepsiceros 

 imberbis. 



Besides the specimen of the young male Lesser Koodoo, already 

 referred to, I have borrowed for exhibition to-night a fine head and 

 pair of horns of an adult male of the same animal, and a pair 

 of horns of a rather younger individual ; the former kindly lent 

 to me by Mr. E. Gerrard, jun., by whom they were received from 

 Sir John Kirk, and the latter belonging to M. Comely, who obtained 

 them along with his pair of living animals 2 . It will be observed 

 that these specimens, so far as they go, fully support Blyth's views 

 as to the specific distinctness of the Lesser Koodoo. 



Looking to the front view of the two skulls with the horns attached 

 now before us, the great difference in size and in the shape and form 

 of the expanse of the spiral is at once manifest. The following are 

 the comparative measurements of these two specimens in inches and 

 tenths : — 



Str. kudu. Sir. imberbis. 



inches*, inches. 

 Length of horns from base to tip in a 



straight line 35 - 18*5 



Distance between tips of ditto 37'0 9 - 



Length of skull from occipital condyle 



to end of upper jaw 15 - 12*5 



Breadth of ditto across forehead .... 6"5 4*75 



It will also be observed that, as has been well pointed out by Mr. 

 Blyth, the spiral formed by the horns in S. imberbis has a much 

 smaller axis. In S. kudu the spiral is very open, almost as in some 

 specimens of the Markhore Goat (Capra megaceros). 



I will now make a few remarks on some of the synonyms that 

 have been assigned to this species. 



1 " Notice of two overlooked Species of Antelope," P. Z. S. 1869, p. 51. 



2 This pair of living animals and the horns were originally imported by 

 Mr. C. Hagenbeck of Hamburg, along with other animals from Somali-land. 



