The Gazelles of Seistan ¹

Abstract

MAJOR R. L. KENNION, British Consul at Seistan, has had the good fortune to bring to light what are practically two new species of gazelle from the Kain and Seistan districts of eastern Persia, specimens of both of these, presented by Major Kennion, being exhibited in the Natural History Museum. Of the first of these species, typified by the mounted head of a buck from Kain, two-notices by myself appeared in the Field newspaper for 1908 Vol. cxi., pp. 70 and 499). In the earlier of these it was;ompared to the Atlas or edmi gazelle (Gazella cuvieri) and Merrill's gazelle (G. merrilli) of Palestine, with the former of which, and probably also with the latter, it agrees in the presence of horns in the female. Compared with the type-skull of Merrill's gazelle figured by Mr. O. Thomas in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1904, vol. ii., p. 348, the head of the Kain gazelle differs by its larger (111/4 inches) and more fully ringed horns, the number of rings in this specimen being sixteen, and also by their less distinctly S-shaped curvature in profile, and rather more sublyrate form when seen from in front. In the general contour of the horns, the characters of the face-markings, the very tall ears, and the large bodily size, this gazelle comes, indeed, very close to the edmi, and in all these respects differs from the goitred gazelle (G. subgutturosa) of western Persia, as it also does by the smaller extent of the white area on the buttocks, which does not reach up to the root of the tail, but is restricted to the inner sides of the thighs. In this latter feature, shown in a mounted specimen, the Kain gazelle agrees with the Indian G. bennetti, from which it differs by its superior size (shoulder-height of a fully adult buck probably about 28 inches), larger ears, and more distinctly sublyrate and slightly incurving horns.