Genus II. TETRACEROS.

Type.
Tetraceros, Hardwicke, Trans. Linn. Soc. xiv. p. 524 (1825)T. quadricornis.

Size small; build slender; anteorbital glands large, oval, opening into a short deep slit on each side of the muzzle; crown not tufted; tail short; mammæ four.

Skull with large lacrymal fossæ; upper molar teeth without additional columns.

Horns normally four, the posterior, which correspond to the ordinary pair found in Cephalophus, placed as in that genus and similar in character, but directed more vertically upwards; anterior pair placed on the front part of the frontals, level with the front of the orbit, much shorter than the posterior pair, and often entirely absent. Female hornless.

Distribution. Peninsula of India.

This genus, the Indian representative of Cephalophus, contains only the Four-horned Antelope and its two-horned subspecies. The latter we follow Mr. Blanford, the latest and best authority on the subject, in considering as not specifically separable; but we have some hesitation in doing so, and have treated it as at any rate deserving the position of a recognizable subspecies.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XXIV.

Wolf del. Smit lith.

Hanhart imp.

The Four-horned Antelope.

TETRACEROS QUADRICORNIS.

Published by R. H. Porter.

39. THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE.
TETRACEROS QUADRICORNIS (Blainv.).
[PLATE XXIV.]

Subspecies T. q. typicus.

Cerophorus (Cervicapra) quadricornis, Blainv. Bull. Soc. Philom. 1816, pp. 75, 78; id. Journ. Phys., Aug. 1818, pl. fig. 3 (skull); id. Oken’s Isis, 1819, p. 1095, pl. fig. 3 (skull).

Antilope quadricornis, Desm. N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 193 (1816); Schinz, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 395 (1821); Desm. Mamm. ii. p. 466 (1822); Goldf. Schreb. Säug. v. p. 1243 (1824); Less. Man. Mamm. p. 281 (1827); Fisch. Syn. Mamm. p. 471 (1829); Waterh. Cat. Mamm. Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 42 (1838).

Antilope (Tetraceros) quadricornis, H. Sm. Griff. An. K. iv. p. 256, v. p. 845 (1827); Less. H. N. Mamm. (Compl. Buff.) x. p. 292 (1836); Gerv. Dict. Sci. Nat. Suppl. i. p. 262 (1840); Less. N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 178 (1842); Wagn. Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 439 (1844), v. p. 410 (1855); Gieb. Säug. p. 323 (1859).

Antilope (Grimmia) quadricornis, Laurill. Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 624 (1839).

Tetraceros quadricornis, Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 159 (1843); id. Cat. Hodgson Coll. (1) p. 26 (1846); Sund. Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 189 (1846); id. Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 141; Reprint, p. 65 (1848); Gray, List Ost. B. M. p. 57 (1847); id. Knowsl. Men. p. 6 (1850); Blyth, J. A. S. B. xvi. pt. 2, p. 879 (1847), et xvii. pt. 1, p. 561 (1848); id. Cat. Mamm. Mus. Asiat. Soc. p. 165 (1863); Gray, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 117; Turner, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 170; Horsf. Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus. p. 167 (1851); Gray, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 68, pl. ix. fig. 1 (skull) (1852); Adams, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 522 (Dehra Doon); Gerrard, Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 234 (1862); Gray, Cat. Hodgs. Coll. (2) p. 13 (1863); Jerd. Mamm. Ind. p. 274 (1867); Blanf. J. A. S. B. xxxvi. p. 196 (1868); Fitz. SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 169 (1869); McMaster, Notes on Jerdon’s Mamm. of

India, p. 126 (1870); Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 18 (1872); id. Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 89 (1873); Kinloch, Large Game Shooting, ser. 2, p. 54 (with plate) (1876); Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 252, figure (animal) (1880); Scl. List An. Z. S. (8) p. 148 (1883); Weldon, P. Z. S. 1884, p. 2 (placentation); Murray, Zool. Sind, p. 55 (1884); Flow. & Gars. Cat. Ost. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 270 (1884); Jent. Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 130 (1887); Flow. & Lyd. Mamm. p. 338 (1891); Blanf. Mamm. Brit. Ind. p. 519 (1891); Scl. f. Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 168 (1891); Jent. Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, xi.) p. 159 (1892); Ward, Horn Meas. p. 78 (1892); Lyd. Horns and Hoofs, p. 149 (1893).

Tchicara, F. Cuv. H. N. Mamm. fol. iii. livr. xliv. (animal, ♂) (1824).

Antilope chickara, Hardw. Trans. Linn. Soc. xiv. p. 520, pls. xv. (♂), xvi. (♀) (1825); Hills, op. cit. xv. p. 501, pl. xix. (♂) (1827); Less. Man. Mamm. p. 381 (1827); Fisch. Syn. Mamm. p. 471 (1829); Hodgs. J. A. S. B. i. p. 346 (1832); id. P. Z. S. 1834, p. 99; Kaup, Thierr. i. p. 179 (1835); Less. H. N. Mamm. (Compl. Buff.) x. p. 292 (1836); Schinz, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 424 (1845).

Tetracerus chickara, Hodgs. J. A. S. B. x. pt. 2, p. 913 (1841).

Tetraceros chickara, Jard. Nat. Libr. (1) vii. p. 224 (1842); Blyth, J. A. S. B. xi. p. 451.

“Tetraceros striaticornis, Leach,” Brookes, Cat. Mus. p. 64 (1828); Gray, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 68 (1852), et auct. al.

Biche des Mariannes, Cervus latipes, F. Cuv. H. N. Mamm. fol. iv. livr. lxv. (animal, ♀) (1832); apud Sund. Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 189 (1846).

Cervus (Styloceros) latipes, Less. N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 174 (1842).

Antilope tetracornis, Hodgs. J. A. S. B. iv. p. 525 (1835), v. p. 242 (1836).

Tetraceros chickara, quadricornis, iodes, and paccerois, Hodgs. Calc. Journ. N. H. viii. pp. 89, 90, pl. iv. (animals & skulls) (1847).

Subspecies T. q. subquadricornutus.

Antilope sub-4-cornutus, Elliot, Madr. Journ. x. p. 225, pl. iv. fig. 2 (head) (1839) (Dharwar, S. Bombay).

Tetraceros subquadricornutus, Hodgs. Calc. Journ. N. H. viii. p. 89 (1847); Gray, Knowsl. Men. p. 7 (1850); id. P. Z. S. 1850, p. 117; id. Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 70 (1852); Gerr. Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 235 (1862); Fitz. SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 170 (1869); Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 19 (1872); id. Hand-1. Rum. B. M. p. 89 (1873); Scl. P. Z. S. 1875, p. 527; Garrod, P. Z. S. 1877, p. 4 (anatomy); Scl. List An. Z. S. (8) p. 148 (1883).

Tetraceros subquadricornis, Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 159 (1843); Turner, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 170.

Vernacular Names:—Chousingha, Chouka, or Doda, Hindi; Benkra or Bekra, Mahratti; Bhokra, Phokra, Guzerati; Bhirki at Saugor; Bhir, Gond; Bhirul, Bheel; Kotari in Chutia Nagpur; Kurus, Gonds of Bastar; Konda-gori, Telugu; Kond-guri, Kaulla-kuri, Canarese; Jangli Bakri in the Deccan (Blanford). The Southern Indian names may be taken as referring to subsp. subquadricornutus.

Height at withers about 25 inches. General colour dull rufous brown, whitish below, the line of demarcation on both sides not sharply defined. Muzzle, outer side of ears, and a line down the front of the limbs blackish brown. Outer sides of fetlocks whitish.

Skull and horns as described above (p. 213). Dimensions of an adult male skull: basal length 6·5 inches, greatest breadth 3·2, muzzle to orbit 3·65.

Horns straight, or the posterior pair slightly curving forwards; the latter are from two to three times the length of the anterior pair. Mr. Blanford states that the anterior are usually from 1 to 1½ inch long, while the posterior are from 3 to 4 inches; while the best head recorded by Mr. R. Ward, from the collection of Sir E. Loder, has a front horn of 2½, a back one 4⅜ inches.

The subspecies T. q. subquadricornutus is similar in all respects to the typical form, with the exception that the anterior horns are either entirely absent, or are represented merely by small horny knobs, which often fall off and leave a black callous patch.

Hab. Peninsula of India, south of the Himalayas (in suitable localities).

The Four-horned Antelope, the single representative of the genus Tetraceros, is the only member of this subfamily of Antelopes found in Asia, and in its present distribution is confined to India south of the Himalayas. This species was first named by the French zoologist De Blainville, in course of a memoir read before the Société Philomathique of Paris in 1816. It was based upon a skull which he appears to have seen in London in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. For several years little more was known of this animal, but in 1824 it was figured by Geoffroy St.-Hilaire and F. Cuvier in their ‘Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères,’ from a drawing (accompanied by notes) forwarded to them by Duvaucel, a well-known French naturalist who was then in India. In the meantime Major-General Thomas Hardwicke, a name well known in Indian zoology, who had become well acquainted with the animal during his residence in India, had described it in a memoir read before the Linnean Society in 1823. Owing to the delay in the publication of Hardwicke’s paper, which was printed in the fourteenth volume of the Linnaean Society’s ‘Transactions,’ the description and figure of this animal in the ‘Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères’ appeared first, as is stated by Hardwicke in an addendum to his memoir. Hardwicke declared that Duvaucel’s figure and notes had been taken from a drawing which that naturalist saw in Hardwicke’s possession when he visited the Major-General at Dum-dum in 1822. Hardwicke states that on that occasion Duvaucel also saw specimens of both sexes of this animal, which were then alive in his possession, and suggests that Duvaucel’s imperfect notes were also drawn up on this occasion. As this seems a very probable explanation of what took place, I think that we must allow that our countryman Hardwicke was the first to recognize this species, although it is unfortunate that he gave it the name of Antilope chickara, as that vernacular name is, throughout all India, applied to the Indian Gazelle.

In 1839 Sir Walter (then Mr.) Elliot, in his Catalogue of the Mammals of the Southern Mahratta country, published in the ‘Madras Journal’ for that year, proposed, rather hesitatingly, to separate the form of this Antelope which occurs in that district under the name subquadricornutus, from the fact that the anterior pair of horns are in some cases not developed at all, and in other cases only occur as small projections on the skull. But Blyth, one of our leading authorities upon Indian mammals, after discussing this question, came to the conclusion that the specimens forwarded to Calcutta by Mr. Elliot did not differ specifically from the common Bengal form, the fact being that in this Antelope the development of the front horns is very variable, and that in many cases these organs appear to be reduced to mere tubercles, or to be altogether absent. Blyth allowed that this reduction of the front horns is more general in specimens from the southern districts of India, although individuals with fully developed front horns are likewise occasionally found in that part of its range. Blyth also subsequently stated that he had seen horns of both the supposed species which had been obtained in the same district near Midnapore (see J. A. S. B. xvi. pt. 2, p. 879).

A figure of the head of the Four-horned Antelope is given by General Kinloch in his useful work on ‘Large Game Shooting in Thibet and the North-West.’ His account of this species is as follows:—“Four-horned Antelopes are generally found alone, or frequently in pairs; they conceal themselves in long grass or among low bushes, and somewhat resemble hares in their habits. They are seldom to be seen out feeding, but usually jump up at the feet of the hunter and bound away at a great pace. I have observed that they generally make their appearance when least expected, and I do not recollect ever meeting with one among the Sewaliks when I have been actually hunting for them.”

In 1847 Hodgson, the well-known naturalist of Nepal, in a paper published in the ‘Calcutta Journal of Natural History,’ went even further than Sir Walter Elliot and proposed to make five species of this Antelope. These species appear to have been founded upon individual variations only and have not met with acceptance in any quarter.

Referring to Mr. W. L. Sclater’s ‘Catalogue of the Specimens of Mammals in the Indian Museum, Calcutta’ (part ii., 1891), we find a good series of specimens of the Four-horned Antelope registered as being preserved in that Institution. But only one species is recognized from all parts of India, and the specimens are all entered under Tetraceros quadricornis.

In his excellent ‘Manual of the Mammals of British India’ Dr. W. T. Blanford describes the range of this Antelope as follows:—“The Four-horned Antelope is found all along the base of the Himalayas from the Punjab to Nepal. It also occurs in most parts of the Peninsula where the country is wooded and hilly, but not in dense jungle, but is not found in the Gangetic plain nor on the Malabar coast in the Madras Presidency. It is said by Mr. Murray to be met with in Sind. It is common in the wooded parts of Rajputana, throughout the Bombay Presidency, the Central Provinces, and the northern parts of Madras; it is less abundant to the eastward in Chhattisgarh, Chutia Nagpur, Bengal, and Orissa, and to the southward in Mysore, but it occurs in the latter State occasionally, and has been observed on the Nilgiri and Palni hills. It is unknown in Ceylon and east of the Bay of Bengal.”

The experienced sportsman Mr. J. D. Inverarity of Bombay writes of this species as follows:—“This is a forest-antelope, living entirely in the jungle. It is not gregarious, but is met with either alone or in pairs. The female brings forth one or two young, and occasionally the two old and two young ones may be seen together. Though not forming a special object of pursuit, a shot at the ‘Baikrie,’ as it is generally called on the Bombay side of India, is often got when out stalking other game. If you see one before it sees you it is fairly easy to stalk it; but it more often happens that they see you first, when they will not admit of approach. On three or four occasions they have stood stupidly looking at me as I walked in full view slowly towards them, and have allowed me to get within 20 yards before bolting. This only occurs when one does not want to shoot them. Forsyth says that the females are more numerous than the bucks, and bear the same proportion to each other as the does and bucks of the black buck. At one time I thought the same myself, but further experience has made me sure that this is not the fact, and that bucks are nearly, if not quite, as numerous as does. The female is hornless. The male has four horns; the posterior and larger pair in a good specimen will be four inches long or a little more. One-and-a-half inches is a good length for the anterior horns and is not often exceeded. In some heads the anterior horns are absent, though the bony knobs are covered with a callous black skin.”

The Four-horned Antelope is not unfrequently brought alive to Europe, but cannot be said to accommodate itself very readily to our northern climate. In 1868 a single specimen was received by the Zoological Society of London as a present from the Babu Rajendra Mullick, of Calcutta. In 1881 a pair of the typical form were acquired by purchase, and bred in the Regent’s Park in the following spring. A female calf was born on February 28th, 1882.

In 1875 three examples of the subspecies (or variety) without the anterior horns were obtained by purchase. Several examples of this same form have been received of late years, but have not thriven in the Society’s Gardens. At the present time there is only a single female left in the Collection.

Our figure of this Antelope (Plate XXIV.) was lithographed by Smit from a sketch of Mr. Wolf’s. It represents an adult male of the typical subspecies in two positions.

August, 1895.