THE DIK-DIKS 
GENUS MADOQUA 
T HE various species and races of African antelopes collectively 
known as dik-diks constitute a well-defined group of the 
Neotraginoe , and are distinguished from all other members of 
that sub -family by the shape of the nose, which in some of the 
species is very much elongated, and in all is almost entirely 
covered with hair. In all the species of dik-diks, too, a brush of 
long hair grows on the forehead and is prolonged into a crest on the top 
of the head which often almost entirely hides the horns. In all the dik-diks 
the tail is very short and the lateral hoofs are very small. The males alone 
carry horns, which are straight or slightly curved, from two to three 
inches in length, and strongly ridged at the base. The nose bones of the 
skull are remarkably short, and the nasal chamber large. The gland pits 
in the skull are also large, but shallow. In some species of dik-diks the 
last tooth in the lower jaw has only two lobes in place of the normal three, 
and in these the nose is not elongated, or only to a very slight extent. 
The dik-diks thus fall into two subgeneric groups: (1) Madoqua , in 
which there are two lobes to the last lower tooth and the nose is only 
slightly developed; and (2) Rhynchotragus , in which there are three lobes 
to the last lower tooth. 
The dik-diks which come under this latter category all have the nose 
more or less elongated, and in some cases it is extended into a sort of 
trunk. 
Five species of dik-diks in which there are only two lobes to the last 
lower tooth have been described by British and German naturalists, 
namely, Salt’s dik-dik ( Madoqua saltiana ), from Eastern Abyssinia; 
Phillip’s dik-dik ( Madoqua phillipsi), from Northern Somaliland; the 
Harar dik-dik ( Madoqua hararensis ), from the Harar district of Southern 
Abyssinia; Erlanger’s dik-dik ( Madoqua erlangeri ), which inhabits the 
country lying between the Upper Webbe Shebeyli and the Webbe Ganale; 
and Swayne’s dik-dik ( Madoqua swaynei ), which is also an inhabitant of 
Somaliland, and is found all over Guban and Ogo as well as in parts of 
the Haud and Ogaden. Of the dik-diks in which there are three lobes in 
the last lower tooth, perhaps the best known are Kirk’s dik-dik (Madoqua 
[ Rhynchotragus ] kirki) and Gunther’s dik-dik (Madoqua [ Rhynchotragus ] 
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