448 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



l^ in. Other measurements : height at withers, 49f in. ; length 

 of ear, 9f in. ; length of mane, H in. ; tip of muzzle to root of 

 tail, 73^ in. No of annulations on each horn about 35. These 

 characters in the Leyden specimen compare very favourably with 

 those of the bull at Paris (horns 21|^ in., with 28 annulations, 

 45 in. at withers), and the cow at Vienna (40 in. at withers). 

 The almost uniformly coloured face and moderate-sized ears of 

 the Blaauwbok contrast markedly with the magpie face and im- 

 mense ears of the Roan Antelope. 



In addition to these skins and stuffed examples, one may 

 mention the broken horn, supposed to have belonged to this 

 species, figured by Button. I have also examined the horns and 

 frontlet of this rare Antelope preserved in the Natural History 

 Museum at South Kensington. I do not know from what speci- 

 men the so-called " Blaubok or Etaak," figured on p. 651 of the 

 Rev. J. G. Wood's ' Natural History,' is taken ; however, it does 

 not matter, for the animal there delineated is obviously a Roan 

 Antelope, and no Blaauwbok at all ; whilst the accompanying 

 letterpress also refers to H. equinus. 



Unfortunately, as Burchell's Zebra is now so often called 

 " Quagga" (though the true Quaggahas been extinct since 1879 at 

 very latest), so also the name '* Blaauwbok" has been applied to 

 the Blue Duiker {Cephalo^jhus monticola), a tiny Antelope no bigger 

 than a Hare, occurring in Cape Colony and Natal. It is regret- 

 able that this little creature, with its mouse-dun coat, tiny horns, 

 and insignificant stature, should be liable to be confused with the 

 beautiful Blaauwbok of Swellendam, a worthy representative of 

 the glorious Hippotragine Antelopes, which even to-day include 

 the Fighting Sable, the handsome Gemsbok, and the gallant 

 Fringe-eared Oryx. 



That the splendid Antelopes yet remaining may be saved by 

 prompt and efficient protection from the untimely fate of the 

 Blaauwbok must be the earnest wish of every true naturalist. 

 Purple Sassaby, Red Hartebeest, Magpie Blesbok, Striped Kudu 

 — these man can destroy, but cannot replace ; and if this essay 

 contributes ever so little towards the preservation of that magni- 

 ficent fauna whose noble presence even to-day gives to many an 

 African landscape the appearance of a vast zoological garden, it 

 will not have been written in vain. 



