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Show 1899.] ON THE SKIN OF AN ANTELOPE FROM LAKE MWERU. 981 bases of the old ones, the thin sheaths attached to the bases of the feathers being occupied by the points of the new feathers. All the feathers so raised had lost most of their original colour, or lost it entirely, the yellow feathers of the neck having bleached white, and the slate-blue feathers of the back and flippers being dull brown or drab except at the extreme tips. The greater part of the old plumage is removed by the bird's bill as soon as the new feathers upon which it is raised are sufficiently developed to form a covering, but many feathers upon the back and flippers may be left for a longer period (fig. A ) ; these scattered feathers, adhering to the now nearly fully developed new plumage, produce the appearance of small crinkled leaves, which puzzled m e so much last year. The small body-feathers have a large downy aftershaft; the quill-feathers have a naked shaft as long as the plumed portion. The feathers of this bird are so unlike those of any other bird, in the entire absence of a raised midrib as well as in their umbilical portion, and the nature of the moult seems to open up such interesting questions, that I have placed all the materials possible in the hands of m y friend Mr. W . P. Pycraft, who I hope will shortly publish the result of investigations which he is about to make upon these specimens. 9. Description of the Skin of an apparently new Kob Antelope from the Neighbourhood of Lake M w e r u , with Note on a Skull and Horns of an Antelope of the same Genus. By R. LYDEKKER. [Received November 20, 1899.] (Plate LXXI.) I am indebted to Mr. Eowland Ward, P.Z.S., for the opportunity of exhibiting to the Society this evening the skin of the very handsome and apparently new species of Kob Antelope forming the subject of the drawing (Plate LXXI.). The specimen, which consists of a flat skin, wanting the head, feet, and the greater portion of the tail, was obtained by Mr. P. Smitheman, P.Z.S., in the neighbourhood of Lake Mweru, situated to the south-west of the lower end of Lake Tanganyika. It arrived in England during last summer, and there were hopes that the head would follow ; but if the latter was ever despatched at all, it has evidently miscarried. The skin has the appearance of belonging to an adult animal, and there is every probability that it pertained to a male. On the under surface there are rudimentary mammae, which indicate that the skin must be that either of a male or of a young female. If it were that of a young female, it would indicate that the adult animal was of very large size; but I think it may be pretty confidently assigned to an adult male. *- Prom the general characters of the pelage and its coloration, and |