105 
but not in the true desert further inland, where sand-dunes take the place of the 
stony scrub-covered plains. It may occasionally stray into the sand country, but 
this is exceptional. 
“In winter the Dorcas Gazelle congregates in large herds, often numbering over one 
hundred individuals ; but in spring these herds break up, and one then meets with the 
Gazelles in small parties or singly. The female G. dorcas, I am told, gives birth to but 
one young one at a time, and this generally in the month of April. 
“The horns of this species vary considerably both in size and in shape. As a rule, 
those of the adult male are stout, deeply annulate, and lyrate, measuring from 10 to 
13 inches in length along the front curve; those of the female are much shorter, 
straighter, smoother, and more slender. 
“| may here mention that I have specimens of the Dorcas Gazelle from the country 
south of the Chott Djerid, which are somewhat paler in colour than the ordinary form. 
No doubt this variation in colouring is due to some difference in the nature of the soil 
and surroundings of the districts from whence these particular specimens came.” 
So little is known of the natural history of Tripoli and Barca that we 
can only presume that the Dorcas Gazelle ranges through these countries on 
its way to Egypt, where it is well known to be abundant in the Western 
Desert. Sclater examined large numbers of both sexes of this species 
in the Zoclogical Garden of Gizeh near Cairo in 1895 from this locality *, 
and several specimens from the same source have been received in 
exchange by the Zoological Society of London. . Our figures of both sexes 
of the Dorcas Gazelle (Plate LVII.) have been prepared by Mr. Smit from 
examples thus obtained. 
In the eastern desert of Egypt the Dorcas Gazelle appears in these days to 
be not nearly so common. Mr. EK. N. Buxton, who traversed the eastern 
desert in his expedition after Capra sinattica, tells us that two or three 
Gazelles together were the most he ever saw at one time. Between the 
Nile and the granite mountains 80 miles to the east, a very arid district, 
Mr. Buxton only saw Gazelles once. They were more numerous among the 
foot hills of the Kettar range and the porphyry mountains, for the obvious 
reason that there is more vegetation there. 
The Gazelles frequently depicted in the paintings of the ancient Egyptian 
tombs and temples were, no doubt, usually Gazella dorcas in Lower, and 
G. isabella in Upper Egypt, although they were probably also well acquainted 
with G. arabica. Dr. Hartmann in his interesting disquisition on the 
animals of these paintings (Zeitschr. f. Aegyptische Sprache und Alterthums- 
* See P. Z. 8. 1898, p. 400. 
VOL. III. Pp 
