East African Bush Duiker | Online Record Book Preview

Sylvicapra grimmia nyansae

DESCRIPTION The East African bush duiker includes a number of local races from considerably different habitats and climates, so there is a good deal of variation in color. However, in much of the region its general color is yellowish gray through bright tawny, with a little black speckling. The black nose stripe is more pronounced in the western part of the distribution range. The coat is longer and shaggier at higher elevations. Horns are somewhat shorter than in the southern bush duiker.

DISTRIBUTION Southern Sudan and western Ethiopia; northeastern and eastern Congo (K) from the Sudan border southward to about Lake Tanganyika; Uganda, southern and western Kenya, and southern Somalia; Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania.

TAXONOMIC NOTES There are 11 recognized sub-species of bush duiker in the Handbook of the Mammals of the World, Wilson, D.E. & Mittermeier, R.A. eds. (2011). The East African category includes six of them: nyansae (SE Sudan, W. Ethiopia, E. Uganda, W. Kenya), altivallis (higher parts of the Aberdares and Mt. Kenya), S.g. madoqua (W. Ethiopia, W. Eretria), lobeliarum (E. Uganda, W. Kenya-the higher parts of Mt. Elgon,), obicularis (S. Somalia, E. Kenya, Tanzania, E. Zambia, Malawi, N. Mozambique), and hindei (N. Tanzania, SE Kenya), with nyansae Costello 2016 having priority.