Bovidae
Author
Don E. Wilson
Author
Russell A. Mittermeier
text
2011
2011-08-31
Lynx Edicions
Barcelona
Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals
444
779
book chapter
58516
10.5281/zenodo.6512484
67b52095-db4b-43f8-a661-4aced0511111
978-84-96553-77-4
6512484
278.
Somali
Klipspringer
Oreotragus somalicus
French:
Oréotrague de
Somalie
/
German:
Somali-Klippspringer
/
Spanish:
Saltarrocas
de
Somalia
Taxonomy.
Oreotragus somalicus Neumann, 1902
,
Sheikh, Golis Mountains, northern
Somalia
.
Formerly considered a synonym of
O. saltatrixoides
. Monotypic.
Distribution.
N
Sudan
through
Eritrea
and N
Somalia
to N
Ethiopia
.
Descriptive notes.
Head-body 74-77 cm, tail 7-6 cm, shoulder height 51-53 cm. Skull length is
13 cm
in males (only one skull is available) and 14.1-14.
6 cm
in females. The male
Somali
Klipspringer is the smallest of the klipspringers, but females are much larger than males, and in the middle range of klipspringer size. Horns are particularly long, about 9-5 cm. General color of the
Somali
Klipspringeris grayish or yellow-olive, with little or no differentiation of color between foreparts and hindparts; brown on the crown, legs contrastingly gray in front; underside white. The teeth are relatively small.
Habitat.
The
Somali
Klipspringer uses rocky areas, like all klipspringers.
Food and Feeding.
A concentrate selector,like all klipspringers.
Breeding.
There is no specific information available for this species, but given the habitat and climate ofits range, breeding is likely to be seasonal.
Activity patterns.
There is no specific information available for this species. Other klipspringers are crepuscular, with most activity in early morning and especially in late afternoon.
Movements, Home range and Social organization.
There is no specific information available for this species. Other klipspringers are territorial, marking boundaries of territories with dung piles and secretions from preorbital glands.
Status and Conservation.
Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (under
O. oreotragus
).
Oreotragus
taxa, except the Nigerian Klipspringer (O. o. porteoust), are not considered separately by IUCN.
Bibliography.
Estes (1991), Groves & Grubb (2011), Kingdon (1982), Roosevelt & Heller (1914).