120 MR. R. LYDEKKER ON THE [Feb. 21, 



The skull shows no very marked diflerence from that of the 

 Nubian Giraffe, with w^hich it agi'ees in the comparatively 

 slight development of the rudimentary occipital horns. The 

 main horns are somewhat smaller and more slender, and the 

 I'idge between them is perhaps somewhat less elevated ; while the 

 anterior horn is remarkable for the great length and rugosity of 

 its base. Whether these features ai'e of any importance can only 

 be determined when other specimens are available. All that can 

 be said at present is that the skull of the Nigerian race is 

 certainly somewhat longer and more slender than that of the 

 typical Nubian foi'm. 



As regards coloiution, the most striking feature of the Nigerian 

 Gii'afie is its exti-eme paleness — this being very markedly shown 

 in the head and neck (PI. XII. figs. 1, 2). This paleness is indeed 

 much more marked than in even immature bulls of the Nubian race. 

 The whole head may, in fact, be said to be whitish, i-elieved only 

 by some pale fawn spots on the side of the face below the line of 

 the eye, and by a dash of still paler (sandj^) fawn on the forehead 

 and the middle line of the face, Tw^o irregular blotches of darker 

 fawn immediately behind each nosti-il are very conspicuous ; they 

 occur indeed in the Nubian Giiafte, but in that form they agree 

 in colour with, and ai'e joined to, the darker fawn of the middle 

 line of the face. 



The Pale-faced, or White-faced, Giraffe would be an excellent 

 distinctive name for this race, were we at liberty to ignore the 

 term peralta, which, I fear, is somewhat misleading. 



On the neck the blotches are of a somewhat darker fawn on a 

 Avhity-brown ground. These blotches are very large, few in 

 number, and separated by very wide interspaces, so that the 

 coloration can scarcely be described as of the " netted " type. In 

 shape the blotches are irregular and much elongated, and at 

 their edges they shade off almost imperce23tib]y into the ground- 

 colour. They are quite different in size and disposition from 

 those of the Nubian Gri'affe. 



The occipital region (PI. XII. fig, 1) is white, with a very 

 few large spots ; and below" the eai's is a very large fawn blotch 

 covering an area which in the Nubian Giraffe is wdiite, and in all 

 other Girafles (PI. XII. fig. 2) is marked with small spots. 



As regards the body-skin, it may be mentioned that the spots 

 on the back are pale chestnut-brow- n, with trefoil-shaped dark 

 bi'own centres. Towards the hind-quarters the colour of the 

 spots gradually lightens, and on the hind-limbs it becomes very 

 pale fawn. The spots on the back are darkei- than in the male of 

 G. c. typioa figured in the Proc. Zool. Soc, for 1904, vol. i. pi. ix., 

 but such a difference may be due mainly or entirely to the 

 immaturity of the latter. A constant distinction between the 

 two forms would appear to be the much greater number of the 

 spots on the back and flanks of peralia, these spots becoming 

 much broken up on the thighs. The spots are divided by a light 

 network, of >\hich the strands ai-e much broadei' on the foie than 



