6 
MR.  E.  T.  BENNETT  ON  THE  M'HORR  ANTELOPE. 
In. 
Length  of  the  horn  in  a  straight  Hne  . 
Distance  between  the  tips  of  the  horns 
Circumference  of  the  horn  at  its  base 
The  survivor,  being  the  older  animal,  is  some  inches  taller,  and  its  other  measure- 
ments greater  in  proportion  ;  but  these  cannot  be  obtained  with  accuracy  during  life'. 
Both  individuals  are  males  ;  but  the  female,  as  appears  by  a  note  of  Mr.  Willshire's,  is 
equally  furnished  with  horns. 
The  distinction  between  the  three  animals,  the  Nanguer  of  BufFon,  the  Addra  of 
M.  Lichtenstein  and  of  M.  Riippell,  and  the  M'horr  of  the  Society's  Gardens,  is  to  be 
found  chiefly  in  the  distribution  of  their  colours.  The  horns  of  the  Nanguer,  as  figured 
by  Bufibn,  appear  intermediate  in  form  between  those  of  the  young  Addra  and  the 
M'horr,  having  no  more  than  six  rings,  rising  almost  in  a  straight  direction  from  the 
head  to  the  point  of  curvature  forwards,  and  measuring  only  six  or  seven  inches  in 
length.  But  the  supposition  that  this  is  an  intermediate  state  of  the  same  animal,  is 
contradicted  by  the  colouring,  the  dorsal  fawn  in  the  Nanguer  extending  along  the  back 
and  sides  nearly  as  far  backwards  and  downwards  as  in  the  M'horr,  while  in  the  young, 
as  well  as  in  the  adult  Addra,  it  gradually  becomes  narrower  and  fainter  as  it  passes 
backwards  from  the  lower  part  of  the  neck,  leaving  not  merely  the  haunches  and  the 
crupper,  but  also  the  far  greater  part  of  the  sides,  white.  This  is  equally  the  case  in 
the  young  male  with  the  horns  scarcely  protruded  beyond  the  commencement  of  the 
rings,  and  in  the  adult  with  eighteen  or  nineteen  rings  to  the  horn ;  and  is  still  more 
decided  in  the  female,  where  the  deeper  colour  is  even  more  circumscribed  in  extent. 
In  the  specimens  represented  in  M.  Riippell's  work,  there  is  also  figured  and  described 
a  short  longitudinal  fawn-coloured  streak  on  the  haunches,  which  is  not  met  with  in 
M.  Lichtenstein's  figures,  and  is  equally  wanting  both  in  the  Nanguer  and  in  the 
M'horr.  In  the  former  of  these  the  haunches  are  wholly  unmarked,  the  dorsal  colour 
being  cut  off  posteriorly  in  nearly  a  straight  line,  extending  from  the  back  downwards  ; 
while  in  the  latter,  as  we  have  seen,  they  are  nearly  covered  by  a  broad  somewhat  tri- 
angular patch  continued  from  the  sides,  extending  down  the  hinder  legs,  and  bounded 
above  by  a  white  streak,  which  is  continuous  with  the  white  of  the  crupper. 
How  far  local  circumstances  may  operate  in  producing  more  or  less  permanent,  and 
more  or  less  extensive,  variations  of  colour,  I  will  not  attempt  to  decide :  but  the  perfect 
coincidence  in  markings  of  the  young  and  adult  Addra,  male  and  female,  as  figured  in 
'  This  animal  having  since  died,  I  am  enabled  to  add  its  measurements,  as  follows  : — Length,  as  above,  5  feet 
1  inch  ;  from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  inner  canthus  of  the  eye,  6^  inches ;  from  the  tip  of  the  nose  to  the  base 
of  the  horn,  7-^  inches ;  of  the  tail  (exclusive  of  the  hair),  8  inches.  Height  to  the  tip  of  the  horn,  4  feet  5| 
inches  ;  at  the  shoulder,  2  feet  1 1  inches  ;  at  the  loins,  3  feet  1  inch.  The  length  of  the  horn  along  its  curva- 
ture anteriorly  is  12  inches  ;  and  taken  in  a  straight  line  from  base  to  tip,  9^  inches  ;  the  distance  between  the 
tips  of  the  horns,  4  inches  ;  and  the  circumference  of  the  horn  at  its  base,  6^  inches. 
