Silver dik-dik
| Silver dik-dik | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Genus: | Madoqua |
| Species: | M. piacentinii |
| Binomial name | |
| Madoqua piacentinii Drake-Brockman, 1911 | |
The silver dik-dik (Madoqua piacentinii) is a small antelope found in low, dense thickets along the southeastern coast of Somalia and in Acacia-Commiphora bushland in the Shebelle Valley in southeastern Ethiopia.[1] It is the smallest species of dik-dik, with a length of 45–50 cm (18–20 in), a height of 30–33 cm (12–13 in) and a weight of 2–3 kg (4.4–6.6 lb).[2] Its back and flanks are grizzled silvery, while the limbs, ears and muzzle are ochraceus in colour.[2] Little is known about its status, but numbers are believed to be decreasing.[1]
Together with the closely related Salt's dik-dik, this species forms the subgenus Madoqua in the genus Madoqua (other dik-diks are also in the genus Madoqua, but the subgenus Rhynchotragus).[3][4] The taxonomy of this subgenus is complex and a matter of dispute. Though most recent authorities treat the silver dik-dik as a monotypic species,[1][5] the silver dik-dik has been suggested as a subspecies of the Swayne's dik-dik[3] (itself now usually treated as a subspecies of the Salt's dik-dik).[4]
References
- 1 2 3 4 IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Madoqua piacentinii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 29 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of data deficient.
- 1 2 Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-408355-2
- 1 2 Ansell, W. F. H. (1972). Order Artiodactyla. Part 15. Pp. 1-84. in: Meester, J., and H. W. Setzer, eds (1972). The mammals of Africa: An identification manualSmithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
- 1 2 Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ↑ Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.