File:The game animals of Africa (1908) (14755067492).jpg

Identifier: gameanimalsofafr00lyde (find matches)
Title: The game animals of Africa
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Lydekker, Richard, 1849-1915
Subjects: Game and game-birds Hunting Big game animals
Publisher: London, R. Ward, limited
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
ica they are known to occur in the Lado district andfarther south in the heart of Congo territory ; while on the westernside of the continent they have been recorded from Angola, southernNigeria, and the Lake Tchad district. With such an enormousgeographical range, it may be taken for granted that giraffes mustexhibit a considerable amount of local variation—either racial orspecific. As a matter of fact, it has for many years been known tonaturalists and sportsmen that giraffes from different parts of Africadisplay considerable variation as regards markings, colour, and thedegree of development of the median horn on the forehead, whichmay indeed be practically absent ; and distinct specific or subspecificnames have been from time to time assigned to these local forms. Itis, however, only recently that anything definite with regard to thedistinctive characteristics and range of these variations has been re-corded, and even now our information on this subject is very far fromcomplete.
Text Appearing After Image:
I. Somali Girafte. PLATE XIV2. Baringo Giraffe. 353 Southern Giraffe. 2 A 354 GIRAFFE GROUP With the exception of the very distinct SomaH species, all theknown varieties of giraffe may be regarded as local races of asingle specific type, technically known as Giro.ffa camelopardalis. Innone of the phases of this species are the dark areas of the deepliver-red tint characteristic of the Somali animal, while the lightmarkings never form such a distinct and coarse network, and areusually tawny instead of white. It is, however, noteworthy that thenorthern or typical form of the ordinary giraffe is the one making thenearest approach in colouring to the Somali species, being a chestnut-coloured animal with an irregular network of light markings. It has,moreover, the three horns characteristic of the Somali species. On theother hand, as we travel down the eastern side of the continent, it isnoticeable that the pattern of the colouring shows a gradual tendencyto pass from the reticulate, or ne

Note About Images