Bongo—Tragelaphus euryceros.

Fig. 45.—Bongo. Showing on the strong mus­cu­lar chest, well-formed pec­toral pat­terns.

This West African antelope is a forest-dwelling species, about which little is known as to its habit of life, though its form and anatomy are well described by Lydekker. It has a powerful chest, long and strong horns, and short hoofs, and it is shown in Fig. 45 with its large pectoral whorl, feathering and crest, in which it strongly resembles the domestic horse. One may be allowed here, as exact knowledge is wanting, to point out that “reconstruc­tion” of its habits may be reasonably attempted along the lines laid down in these pages. It is doubtful if any large mammal could possess so powerful a fore-end with very muscular forelimbs, highly-developed pectoral patterns and short strong hoofs without being a very fleet animal much accustomed to relying upon its speed for its protec­tion, and if a greater knowledge of it be obtained in the future it is highly probable that this predic­tion will be verified. Part of its habitat is described as the Ashkankolu Mountains, a region where speed would be of great value.