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Show 208 MR. O. THOxMAS O N S O M E [Mar. 17, appeared that a Reed-buck would occur in the dry sandy plateau of Somali-land. Now, however, that better material is available, I am able to draw up a fairly complete account of the more essential characters of this most beautiful Gazelle, of the discovery of which Mr. Clarke, both as sportsman and naturalist, has so much reason to be proud. Muzzle, character of face-markings, and presence of anteorbital glands as in Gazella. General form (as described by Mr. Clarke, see below) and skull more as in Lithocranius. Horns in curve and general appearance as in Cervicapra. Coloration of face, using Sir Victor Brooke's phraseology \ as follows:-Central facial band deep rich chestnut-rufous, becoming duller towards the bases of the horns ; light facial streaks pure white, very prominent and sharply defined, extending the whole length of the head from the bases of the ears to the corners of the nostrils, somewhat duller and more indistinct at their extremities, but broadening in the middle to encircle the eyes; dark facial streak present but not strongly marked. Cheeks and sides of neck pale fawn; throat white. Crown between and behind horns brown or grizzled fawn, the latter condition occurring in the older of Mr. Swayne's two head-skins ; a marked whorl of hairs situated between the ears. Back of ears short-haired, dark fawn basally, gradually darkening to black terminally ; insides white-haired, but with black tips. Horns evenly curved upwards and forwards, the basal halves running backwards and the terminal halves nearly vertically upwards, the main curvature being therefore exactly in the opposite direction to that found in Gazella and Lithocranius. The horns themselves slender, their smooth unridged portion very long, the first indistinct ridge occurring about 5 inches from the tip. Ridges widely separate, strongly defined anteriorly, but becoming abruptly obsolete about halfway round, the sides and back showing scarcely a trace of them ; their number amounting to 10 in the oldest specimen available, a number probably but seldom much exceeded, judging by b and c, which, although fully adult, have only 8 and 7 ridges respectively. Of Mr. Swayne's two specimens one has 8 and the ether 5 ridges. Skull diverging from that of Gazella and approaching that of Lithocranius by being unusually low, long in the occipital region, with a comparatively straight cranio-facial angle, with very small bullae, with the postero-internal wall of the suborbital fossae imperfect, and with a remarkably small and slender lower jaw. On the other hand, it differs from the same skull by being peculiar to a less extent in all these points, by the greater development of the premaxilla? posteriorly, where they have a broad articulation with the nasals, by the larger nasals and smaller interparietal, and by the larger and more powerful teeth, which are absolutely larger in the smaller animal. In its skull-characters, therefore, Ammodorcas stands just intermediate between Gazella and Lithocranius ; in its muzzle and in the 1 P. Z. S. 1873, p. 536. |