320 CLASS MAMMALIA. 



from the nape of the neck to the tail. The head, from the 

 nostrils to the vertex, one foot three inches ; the horns one 

 foot one inch and a half in circumference at base, one inch 

 asunder on the head, bending back and downwards, an- 

 gular, black, two feet one inch long and wrinkled ; the ears 

 small ; a beard formed by hairs on the cheeks, and under- 

 jaw dividing into two lobes ; the neck thick, of no great 

 length, and beneath it a quantity of long hairs hanging from 

 the throat to the knees ; a setaceous mane stood up along 

 the neck, and in particular about the withers where it was 

 tufted, long, and erect, and of the same colour, or some- 

 what darker than that of the rest of the body, which resem- 

 bles the winter dress of a stag, or blackish-rufous ; the 

 knees, protected by long and dense hairs which seem in- 

 tended to protect them in bounding, were bent backwards, 

 but without a callosity ; the legs were slender, and the exter- 

 nal hoofs of the fore-feet longer than the internal ; the in- 

 cisors were only six in number ; the nostrils black, divided 

 by a perpendicular line of the same colour. It was gentle, 

 petulant, and lascivious, fond of ascending high places and 

 roofs of houses ; it could run swiftly and bound prodigiously. 

 According to Caius the females are larger than the males, 

 but are not provided with a similar luxuriant mane, but on 

 this head he does not seem to speak from personal observa- 

 tion. This animal appears to be the real Fishtail or Lerwee 

 of Shaw, all the characters agreeing excepting the stature, 

 which may have been over-rated to him by the Arabs, or 

 may allude to some of the smaller breeds of cattle, whose 

 heifers in Africa are not higher at the shoulder than 

 the male is here represented. Its character is likewise in 

 harmony with the name, whether the interpretation of 

 Fishtail refer to its form, or to its habits*. Here we 



* According to my learned friend, N. Howard, Esq., the name 

 may be a compound of ^ifesk, bristles, mane, and ^U tall, long ; 

 thus long mane ; or be compounded of ^^vehsh, a desert, and 



