Strepsiceros suara, Matsch. SB. Ges. nat. Freund. 1892, p. 135 (skin, not horns).
Æpyceros suara, Matsch. Thierw. O.-Afr., Säug. p. 129 (1895).
Æpyceros melampus johnstoni, Thos. P. Z. S. 1892, p. 553 (Nyasa).
Æpyceros melampus typicus, Thos. l. c.
Æpyceros melampus holubi, Lorenz, Ann. Mus. Wien, ix., Notizen, p. 62 (1894) (“N. of Zambezi”).
Vernacular Names:—Pallah of English; Roodebok or Roibok of Dutch; Pala of Bechuanas; Napala of Matabili; Ee-pala of Makalakas; Inzero of Masubias; Umpara of Makubas; Lubondwee of Batongas; Kug-ar of Masaras (Selous); Impaya of Transvaal Shangaans (Rendall); Suare in Tette (Peters); Nswala of Nyasa tribes (Crawshay) and of East-African Swahilis (Jackson); Kulungu and Nosi near Kilimanjaro (Johnston); Om-gaba in Arabic (Heuglin).
Size comparatively large; height at the withers about 36 inches. General colour bright reddish brown, paler along the lower part of the sides. In southern specimens the colour is rather duller and browner than in northern ones, but the difference is very slight. Head dark fawn; a mark over the anterior half of the eye, chin, interramia, and upper part of throat white. Belly pure white. In front of the eye, on the side of the face, there is generally, though not always, in southern specimens an indistinct darker patch, but this is never present in northern ones. A black patch occasionally present on the crown. Ears of medium length, their outer sides fawn, with the terminal third black. Limbs like the back, a lighter ring round the pasterns just above the hoofs; a pair of prominent black tufts of longer hairs on the distal extremity of the hind cannon-bones (whence the name of the species). Tail fairly long, its upperside with a narrow black line along it, extending more or less on to the back, its sides fawn basally, white terminally.
Skull as above described. The dimensions of a male skull are:—Basal length 10·3 inches, greatest breadth 4·4, muzzle to orbit 6·1.
The horns are particularly graceful, lyrate, convex forwards below, concave above, evenly spreading. In length, in the south, good specimens may attain about 18 or 20 inches in a direct line, and in the north more, up to about 21 or 22 inches, the largest recorded being 23. But in the intermediate districts, Nyasa, Zambesia, and Gazaland, they are much shorter, fully adult horns being often only 14 inches in length.
Female similar to the male, but without horns.