Southern Bush Duiker | Online Record Book Preview

Sylvicapra grimmia grimmia

DESCRIPTION Shoulder height 23-25 inches (58-64 cm). Weight 33-46 pounds (15-21 kg).

The southern bush duiker has the largest body and by far the longest horns of any bush duiker. The general color is a pale grayish brown, grizzled with black. The grizzled effect is caused by the alternate yellowish and blackish brown color banding of the individual hairs. The lower parts are colored like the back, except that the chin, the insides of the upper legs, and the underside of the tail are whitish. The face is reddish with a dark brown nose stripe. The ears are long, with narrow pointed tips, and the head is long and narrow.

DISTRIBUTION South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, and Katanga Province in southeastern Congo (K).

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 Southern bush duiker category includes three of them: Sylvicapra grimmia grimmia (S. South Africa), S. g. caffra (NE South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, S Mozambique, E. Zimbabwe), and S.g. steinhardti (NW South Africa, Namibia, S. Angola and W. Botswana) with grimmia Linnaeus, 1758 having priority.