1901.] NBW AFRICAN MAMMAL. 5 



cheeks of the rather large head are yellowish-white, and the 

 tapering muzzle is blackish-brown. The forehead is a most vivid 

 red, narrowing down into a thin black line continued along the 

 ridge of the nose to the nostrils. The long ass-like ears are of a 

 deep reddish-brown, with silky black fringes. The neck, shoulders, 

 stomach, and back are a deep reddish-brown, which in parts has 

 almost a crimson tinge, and in others becomes blackish. The hind- 

 quarters and hind legs, down to the hocks, and the front legs from 

 the elbow to the wrist-joint are boldly striped in purplish-black 

 and white, the white having here and there faint touches of orange. 

 The hind legs from the hock downwards are of a creamy colour. 

 The front legs are also cream-colour, but a bold black line runs 

 down the front of the leg in an oblique manner. The fetlocks of 

 all four feet are black and cream-colour. The tail is bright reddish- 

 brown, with a black tuft at the end. There are no horns, but it 

 may be seen from the skulls that far back in its history this 

 creature possessed three horn-cores similar to those of the Giraffe, 

 but that by long disuse these horn-cores have degenerated into 

 rounded bumps on the skull, two of them being situated a little 

 above the eyes, and one at the beginning of the nasal bones. On 

 the skin, just over the two bigger bumps, are two tiny and comical 

 little twists of hair, which represent all that remains outwardly 

 of horns or horn-cores. The animal stands slightly higher at the 

 withers than at the hindquarters, but its neck is not proportionately 

 longer than that of a horse. The head is rather large in propor- 

 tion to the body, and in outline slightly resembles the head of a 

 Tapir. The nostrils are two long slits, completely covered with 

 hair, and resembling the nostrils of the Giraffe. The lips apparently 

 taper to a point. There are, of course, no front teeth in the 

 upper jaw, as the animal is a true Ruminant. The front teeth in 

 the lower jaw are so small and feeble as to suggest the idea that 

 the creature, like the Giraffe, must possess a prehensile tongue for 

 furnishing food for the molar teeth to grind. If this is not the 

 case, then the rather long and prehensile lips secure most of the 

 animal's nutriment, which consists of leaves. Other particulars 

 will, no doubt, be furnished to us before long by the authorities of 

 the British Museum, when they are able to examine the specimens. 

 The build of the animal is rather heavy in the case of the male. 

 The female is said to be much more lightly built, and her skull is 

 considerably smaller than that of the male. It is not yet known 

 whether any difference of coloration exists between the male and 

 female; the natives say that they differ only in size. The same 

 authorities state that the creature is found only in the densest 

 paris of the forest, and that it goes about in pairs of male and 

 female. It would seem to be quite inoffensive, and very easily 

 killed. It is ordinarily captured in pitfall-, and from what Sir 

 Harry Johnston ascertained on the spot its extinction is being 

 rapidly carried out by the natives of the Congo Free State. Now 

 that this discovery lias been made by joint action on the part "I 

 British and Belgian officials, we may look with confidence to King 



