40 



GREAT GAME ANIMALS. 



present day the headquarters of this Antelope are the Kirghiz 

 Steppes, but a century ago its range extended as far west as 

 Poland. During the latter part of the Tertiary period the Saiga 

 was much more widely distributed, its fossilised remains having 

 been obtained from many parts of Western Europe, including 

 Britain. Saigas associate in large herds ; and although they run 

 swiftly for a short distance, they soon tire, and are thus- easily 

 captured. The tubular nose, which can be shortened by being 

 wrinkled up, may be a provision to prevent particles of sand being 

 carried up into the nose-chamber. The specimens exhibited were 

 presented by the Duke of Bedford. 



The Pigmy, or The genus Neotragus — of which the Pigmy or 

 Royal, Antelope. Royal Antelope, Neotragus pygmceus (1 154), is 

 Genus Heotrag«S. the typical re preservative, brings us to a group 

 [Case 56.] which includes a number of allied species arranged in the genera 

 Oreotragus, Oribia, Raphiceros, Nesotragus, Hylarnus, and 

 Madoqua. All these Neotragine Antelopes are of small size. They 

 may have the muzzle short and naked, or elongated and hairy ; but 

 the gland below the eye is always large, and opens by a small circular 

 orifice. The tail is either short or of medium length ; and lateral 

 hoofs may be present or absent. The horns — which are present 

 only in the males — are short, and more or less nearly straight, with 

 ridges at the base^ but smooth at the tip ; their direction being 

 either vertical or inclining backwards. From the following genera, 

 Neotragus differs by the very small size of the horns of the males, 

 which do not reach within some distance of the back of the skull ; 

 and likewise by the absence of any vacuities between the bones of 

 the face. Two allied species, one from West Africa and the other 

 from the Tturi Forest, have been named Hylarnus. 



The Suni Antelopes. The two East African s P ecies of this genus, the 

 Suni, or Zanzibar Antelope, Nesotragus mos- 

 Oenus Nesotragus. chatus (f f 55^ an d n Iwingstonianus (1 156), 



[Case 56.] are somewhat larger than the Pigmy Antelope, with relatively 

 longer horns, which are inclined backwards nearly in the line of 

 the face, and reach at least as far as the back of the skull. As in 

 the Pigmy Antelope, there are lateral hoofs to the feet, but no 

 bare glandular patches behind the ear. In addition to inhabiting 

 the mainland, the Zanzibar Antelope is found on two small coral- 



