Cervicapra chanleri, Rothschild, Nov. Zool. ii. p. 53 (1895); Chanler, Through Jungle and Desert, p. 431 (cum tab.) (1896); Ward, Horn Meas. (2) p. 137 (1896).
Apparently similar to C. fulvorufula in all important respects. A dark stripe present on the top of the nose, similar to that often found in C. arundinum and C. fulvorufula.
Skull and horns exactly like those of C. fulvorufula. Dimensions of the typical skull, taken from a cast:—Basal length 7·65 inches, greatest breadth 3·9, orbit to tip of muzzle 4·8.
Hab. British East Africa, mountains east of Mount Kenia.
This recently described species has been founded upon a single specimen obtained by Mr. Astor Chanler, during his recent expedition into the interior of British East Africa, on the slopes of the Jambene mountains, about 45 miles N.N.E. of Mount Kenia. In his volume entitled ‘Through Jungle and Desert,’ in which an account of his expedition is given, Mr. Chanler speaks of this animal as follows:—“During the rains (of 1893) three small Antelopes visited the hill just above my camp (at Daicho[16]) and I was able to secure one of them. I felt convinced that it was a new species, so I carefully preserved its skeleton and skin. It proved to be a species of Reedbuck heretofore unknown, and has since been designated ‘Cervicapra chanleri.’”
Fig. 43.
Head of Cervicapra chanleri.
(From the typical specimen.)
Mr. Chanler’s specimen of this Reedbuck was placed in the hands of Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co., of Piccadilly, for the purpose of being mounted, and there attracted Mr. Ward’s special attention, as he had previously seen a flat skin somewhat similar, and had called Mr. Chanler’s attention to it before his departure on his expedition. Before sending the specimen to its destination in the United States National Museum at Washington, Mr. Ward showed it to Mr. Walter Rothschild as probably belonging to an undescribed species, and shortly afterwards Mr. Rothschild dedicated it to its discoverer in a paper published in the second volume of ‘Novitates Zoologicæ,’ with the following characters:—“This new species belongs to the group of the smaller species of Cervicapra, and is nearest to C. bohor, but much the smallest of the genus. Perhaps the most striking difference to the ordinary observer is the central black stripe running from the nose to between the eyes. Head and neck generally orange-buff, as in C. bohor; back, sides of body, upperside of tail, and outer sides of limbs warm buffy grey, instead of being of the same colour as the neck, as in C. bohor and C. redunca. Belly, underside of tail, and inside of limbs down to the knees white. Just below the knee in front is a dark brown patch. The ears seem to be longer and narrower in proportion than those of C. bohor; they are sparingly covered on the outside with short hair of the colour of the neck, and inside thickly lined with long white hair. The horns are much smaller and thinner than those of C. bohor, and much more so, of course, than those of C. redunca, both of which are much more curved forward. The rings on the horns project much more and are much sharper than in my specimens of C. bohor and C. redunca, and are also much more regular. They are five in number, besides the basal ring.”