224 



Catalogue of Mammalia 



[Oct. 



The Indian gazelle always appeared to me to be new and undescrib- 

 ed, until I met with the Arabian species on the Southern and Eastern 

 slic es of Arabia in 1833 ; a careful examination of several individuals, 

 both in a state of captivity, and that had been shot, convinced me that 

 t] ey were identical with the Indian species. And in this, I was con- 

 rl med by the opinion of M. Riippell, formed on inspection of a stuffed 

 skin taken home by me. They abound also in the islands of the Red Sea, 

 particularly in Dhalak, and on the western shores about Massowa, and 

 probably all along the Abyssinian Coast. The gazelle of the Hauran 

 and of Syria, appeared also to be of this species ; but I never had an 

 opportunity of examining one closely. If this be the case, the Chikara 

 possesses an additional interest, in being the same animal as the roe 

 and the roe buck of Scripture. The modern name for the gazelle in 

 Yemen is .1; Dabi or Dzabi which is the same as the Hebrew word 



translated " Roe." Deut. 14, 5. It is likewise the gazelle of the 

 Arabian poets, as appears from the common saying ^j^ll^jS". 



'* The eyes of the Dabi are the most beautiful of all." 



It is found on the red sandy plains, or among stony open hills, and 

 abounds in the basaltic formation of the Dekhun, in the valleys of the 

 sandstone formation, and generally among the jungles of the red soil 

 to the eastward of the Southern Mahratta Country.' It is never seen on 

 the black plains, nor among the western jungles, nor in the Mulnad. 



It is found frequently in herds of three, generally a buck with two 

 does ; also of 5, 6, or 7, or more. The young expelled bucks are also 

 found in separate herds like those of A. cervicapra. When two bucks 

 fight they butt like rams, retiring a little and striking the foreheads 

 together with great violence. When alarmed it utters a sort of hiss by 

 blowing through the nose and stamps with the fore-foot, whence its 

 Canarese name of Tisha. 



The dimensions of an adult male procured at Dumbal in the Southern 

 Mahratta Country, the skin of which is now in the British Museum, 

 were as follows : height at the shoulder 2 feet, 2 inches ; at the croup 

 2 feet 4& inches ; length from the nose to insertion of the tail3feet, 5£ in- 

 ches; of tail 8£ inches; of ear 6 inches ; of horns 11 in.; of head 9 in. 

 Weight 48-lbs. 



But these are by no means the largest dimensions observed. At 

 Deesa in Goozerat, where it is much more common, I measured three 

 crania, the dimensions of the horns of which were 



Length, 10^ in. 10f in. 11£ inches. 



Distance between \ CL k 



the points. J ° 2 ° f 

 Number of annuli 14 16 18 



including the two imperfect ones near the tip. The third or largest 



