THE DUIKERS 275 



Cephalophine group of Antelopes, the other members of which are the 

 widely-distributed Duikers of Africa, forming the genus Cephalophus. 

 The Duikers are all short-legged, pointed-headed animals, with rounded 

 backs and short conical horns, which are sometimes present in the 

 males only, and sometimes in the females also. They are nearly 

 all very small, often under two feet at the shoulder, though the 

 Yellow-backed Duiker {Cephalophus sylvicultor) of West Africa stands 

 nearly a yard at the shoulder, and there are two or three other species 

 nearly as large in that part of Africa. A very characteristic point of 

 Duikers is the tuft of hair which grows between the horns, and often 

 conceals them when they are especially short. They also have the 

 face-gland situated below the eyes, and present in so many ruminants, 

 very well developed. 



In general colour Duikers are brown or grey, and seldom possess 

 any conspicuous markings, though the large Jentink's Duiker {Cephalo- 

 phus jentinki), which is the second largest, has a black head and 

 neck and a light grey body, and the Banded Duiker (C dories) has 

 the back with conspicuous transverse black stripes on a chestnut 

 ground. 



Duikers are bush-huinting Antelopes, found either singly or in 

 pairs, not in herds, and are very active, their Boer name of Duiker 

 (diver) being derived from the way in which they plunge, as it were, 

 into the cover. About three dozen species are known, chiefly, as might 

 be supposed from their habits, located in the forest regions of the 

 West of Africa. The most widely distributed and best known is the 

 Common Duiker (C grimmi), which is found from the Cape Colony to 

 Somaliland and Angola ; it stands rather over two feet at the shoulder, 

 and varies much in colour, from red-brown to silver-grey. This species 

 is often on view at the Zoological Gardens, and about half-a-dozen 

 others have been represented there. 



The Neotragine Antelopes form another group composed of species 

 mostly of small size, though not so uniform in type as the Cephalophine 

 group. Only the males have horns, and these are short and straight. 

 To this group belong the Rhebok {Pelea capreolus), a. grey Ante- 

 lope frequenting hill-tops, the Grysbok and Steinboks {Raphiceros\ 

 the Oribis {Ourebia), and some other types requiring more particular 

 mention. All the group are African. 



