344 UNGULATA 
species in his Geology and Zoology of Abyssinia, Mr. W. T. Blanford 
observes that “the appearance of a herd of Oryx is very imposing. 
They are some of the most elegant and symmetrical of animals, the 
motions being those of a wild Horse rather than of an Antelope. 
Their favourite pace appears to be either a steady quick walk or a 
trot; they rarely break into a gallop unless greatly alarmed. 
When frightened they dash off, sometimes snorting and putting 
Fic. 141.—The Gemsbok (Oryx gazella). 
their heads down as if charging, raising their long tails, and look- 
ing very formidable. They are wary animals, though far less so 
than some other Antelopes. It is said that they frequently attack 
when wounded, and their long straight horns are most deadly 
weapons.” The Arabian Beatrix Antelope (0. beatriz) is a much 
smaller animal, with the black markings confined to the head, fore 
limbs, and flanks, Finally, the Leucoryx (0. lewcoryx) of North 
Africa, while agreeing in size with the Beatrix, differs hy its curved 
horns and uniform coloration. ; 
The extinct Puleorys, of the Lower Pliocene of Europe and the 
Isle of Samos, appears to have been an ancestral form of Oryx, said 
to show some signs of affinity with Hippotrayus. , 
