White-bellied duiker

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White-bellied duiker
Systematics
without rank: Forehead weapon bearer (Pecora)
Family : Horned Bearers (Bovidae)
Subfamily : Antilopinae
Tribe : Duiker (cephalophini)
Genre : Cephalophus
Type : White-bellied duiker
Scientific name
Cephalophus leucogaster
Gray , 1873

The white-bellied duiker ( Cephalophus leucogaster ) is a type of duiker that occurs in Central Africa . The distribution area includes the western part of the Congo Basin . There the animals live mainly in undisturbed forests, but are generally rare. They are characterized by a lighter, golden-brown back and a whitish belly that gives them their name. A dark line of eel runs down the back . The way of life has not been adequately researched. The animals use large action spaces and feed on fruits. The white-bellied duiker was scientifically introduced in 1873. Its closest relatives can be found in several other East African red ducks. Sometimes the Uëlle white-bellied duiker is assigned to him as a subspecies. The stock is considered endangered.

features

Habitus

The white-bellied duiker is a medium-sized representative of the duiker. It reaches a head-trunk length of 92 to 100 cm and a tail length of 12 to 15 cm. The shoulder height is about 42 to 51 cm, the weight is 14 to 17.5 kg. Females are slightly heavier than males with a difference of around 8%. The gender dimorphism is only slightly pronounced. The color is generally lighter than that of the related species. The fur is also smooth and short. Overall, the animals appear golden brown with a reddish hue. The most intense coloring occurs on the back and trunk. The shoulders are more gray in color and the legs brown-gray, towards the hooves the color becomes darker. Individual dark spots can be seen on the hocks. The underside, chin, throat as well as the inside of the legs and the buttocks are colored whitish. The light tummy tint runs up the sides of the body and gradually merges into the back color. A blackish eel line begins on the neck or shoulders, widens in the middle of the back and becomes narrower again on the croup . It is narrower than the Uëlle white-bellied duiker ( Cephalophus arrhenii ), its width is usually 3.6 to 4.7 cm, rarely up to 6.9 cm. The eel line is flanked by banded hair, which makes the edges appear irregular in some individuals. The tail has a large tassel made up of white-tipped hair. Otherwise the tail is red on top, but bare underneath. The forehead and bridge of the nose are dark blackish-brown and clearly set off from the lighter sides of the head. A light reddish-brown tuft grows on the head, sometimes interspersed with black hair. The horns occur in both sexes. In males they are on average 4.7 cm long, in females 2.4 cm. The maximum length was recorded at 12.7 cm. They are therefore relatively short and oriented towards the rear, they are also pointed and strongly curled at the base.

Skull and dentition features

The skull is characterized by a short rostrum , strong horn bases on the frontal bone and a sharp upper edge of the pre-eye pit (fossa praeorbitalis). The bit has the following dental formula of: . It therefore consists of 32 teeth.

distribution and habitat

The distribution area of ​​the white-bellied duiker is in Central Africa . It extends from Cameroon south of the Sanaga over Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in the west eastward to the southwest of the Central African Republic and the north of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In the east the Congo and the Ubangi form the border. The animals inhabit forests, mainly untouched primary forests. A frequent occurrence in secondary forests , as originally assumed, has not been proven. However, the species can occasionally be found there as well as at the edges of forests in river valleys, sometimes also in the transition to savannas . As a rule, the white-bellied duiker stays below 1000 m above sea level. Generally it is considered rare. Of 108 manure samples of various duikers from the Ivindo National Park in Gabon, only one turned out to be a white-bellied duiker.

Way of life

Territorial behavior

Little specific information is available about the way of life of the white-bellied duiker. It is active during the day and uses large action areas that can possibly hold around 60  hectares . In the event of disturbances, the animals freeze and try to locate the source. As a rule, they then move away in a zigzag path. Both sexes give off a bleating call through the nose.

nutrition

The white-bellied duiker mainly feeds on fruits . Investigations of nine stomach contents from Gabon showed 72.9% remains of fruits and seeds . Around 13.9% came from leaves , 10.8% from petioles and twigs and 2.2% from flowers . Subordinate also let fungi and animal material evidence, usually insects . The diet came from around 50 different plant species. Fruits with a diameter of 1 to 3 cm dominated, which made up 77.3%. Important food plants are the Annonaceae such as Artabotrys , dog poison plants such as Cylindropsis , milkweed plants such as Plagiostyles or red plants such as Nauclea , and also Ongokea .

Reproduction

Little is known about reproduction. A well-formed fetus weighed 1.5 kg. Newborns have a light gray coat with a little pronounced stripe on the back. The fur of the adult animals is developed before weaning. Other fruit-eating duikers in the region give birth all year round, but there is an accumulation at the end of the rainy season and in the dry season , when the food crops are most productive.

Systematics

Internal classification of the genus Cephalophus according to Johnston et al. 2012
 Cephalophus  

  "Giant duiker"  


 Sylvicapra


   


 Cephalophus silvicultor


   

 Cephalophus spadix



   

 Cephalophus jentinki


   

 Cephalophus dorsalis





   

 Cephalophus zebra



   
  "East African red duiker"  



 Cephalophus rufilatus


   

 Cephalophus nigrifrons



   

 Cephalophus harveyi


   

 Cephalophus natalensis




   

 Cephalophus leucogaster



  "West African red duiker"  

 Cephalophus niger


   

 Cephalophus rubidus


   

 Cephalophus weynsi


   

 Cephalophus callipygus


   

 Cephalophus ogilbyi








   

 Cephalophus adersi



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The white-bellied duiker is a species from the genus Cephalophus and the family of the horned duiker (Bovidae). The genus stands within the horn-bearers in the tribe of the duiker (Cephalophini). With Sylvicapra and Philantomba, two other genera are assigned to this. The duikers mostly combine smaller to medium-sized and compactly built representatives of the horn-bearers. They are endemic to Africa and, with the exception of Sylvicapra , which inhabits savannah landscapes , are mainly adapted to wooded habitats .

Cephalophus forms the most species-rich group within the duiker. Molecular genetic studies from 2001 reveal a total of three lines of development within the genus. One includes the giant duiker, which includes the jentink duiker ( Cephalophus jentinki ) and the black- backed duiker ( Cephalophus dorsalis ). Another group can be found in the West African red duiker, such as the St. Peter's duiker ( Cephalophus callipygus ) and the Ogilby duiker ( Cephalophus ogilbyi ). The third is indicated by the East African red duiker, such as the natal red duiker ( Cephalophus natalensis ) and the Harvey red duiker ( Cephalophus harveyi ). This classification of the species in the genus Cephalophus could in principle also be confirmed by later studies published in 2012. According to the genetic analyzes, the white-bellied duiker belongs to the East African red duiker and forms the sister group to all other representatives. According to the genetic studies, the splitting of the East African red duiker occurred around the transition from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene around 2.4 to 1.2 million years ago, but the basal form of the white-bellied duiker may have settled a little earlier. The deep embedding of Sylvicapra in the giant duiker can be seen as a further result of the studies , which makes the genus Cephalophus appear paraphyletic . Therefore possibly the red duiker in need Cephalophus are released, it was suggested Cephalophorus as a generic name for this.

The first scientific description of the white-bellied ducker goes back to John Edward Gray from 1873. For this, Gray used individuals from the collection of Paul Belloni Du Chaillu , he identified Gabon as the type area . Oldfield Thomas later gave the type specimen with a not fully grown female animal.

One adopted subspecies was C. l in 1923 . seke introduced by Ludwig Lorenz von Libernau . He cited animals from the Mawambi mountains in southwestern Cameroon . They were collected from an expedition by Rudolf Grauer to Central Africa between 1909 and 1911. The shape is now synonymous with the white-bellied duiker, which was worked out by Jane St. Leger in the 1930s, among others . In some classifications , the white -bellied duiker also includes the Uëlle white-bellied duiker ( Cephalophus arrhenii ), which is found further east in the Congo Basin . This form was sometimes also listed as a subspecies of the black- backed ducker ( Cephalus doralis ). A revision of the hornbeams, published in 2011 by Colin P. Groves and Peter Grubb, regards both the white-bellied duiker and the Uëlle white-bellied duiker as independent.

Threat and protection

According to the IUCN , the population of the white-bellied duck is "potentially endangered" ( near threatend ). The assessment includes the Uëlle white-bellied duiker . The nature conservation organization expects the population to decline by 20 to 25% over the last three generations (14 years). This was caused by intensive hunting of the animals as a food resource. Hunting is done with snares and nets, which is favored by the large territories of the animals and the associated migrations. This may lead to the local extinction of individual stands and a restriction to untouched forest areas. The species is found in several nature reserves, including the Lopé National Park in Gabon and the Monte Alén National Park in Equatorial Guinea.

literature

  • Colin P. Groves and David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , p. 770
  • John A. Hart: Cephalophus leucogaster White-bellied Duiker. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume VI. Pigs, Hippopotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 255-258

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Colin P. Groves and David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , p. 770
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g John A. Hart: Cephalophus leucogaster White-bellied Duiker. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume VI. Pigs, Hippopotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 255-258
  3. ↑ Nathalie van Vliet, Ste'phanie Zundel, Christian Miquel, Pierre Taberlet and Robert Nasi: Distinguishing dung from blue, red and yellow-backed duikers through noninvasive genetic techniques. Journal of African Ecology 46 (3), 2008, pp. 411-417, doi: 10.1111 / j.1365-2028.2007.00879.x
  4. ↑ Towa Olivier William Kamgaing, Kadiri Serge Bobo, Daniel Djekda, Keumbeng Blondel Vasco Azobou, Bobo Réné Hamadjida, Moaga Yannick Balangounde, Kamdem Joel Simo and Hirokazu Yasuoka: Population density estimates of forest duikers (Philantomba monticola & Cephalophus spp.) Differ greatly between survey methods. African Journal of Ecology 56 (4), 2018, pp. 908-916, doi: 10.1111 / aje.12518
  5. ^ Gerard Dubost: Comparison of the Diets of Frugivorous Forest Ruminants of Gabon. Journal of Mammalogy 65 (2), 1984, pp. 298-316
  6. ↑ Gerard Dubost and F. Feer: Saisons de reproduction des petits Ruminants dans Ie nord-est du Gabon, en fonction des variations des ressources alimentaires. Mammalia 56 (1), 1992, pp. 25-43
  7. ↑ a b c d Anne R Johnston and Nicola M Anthony: A multi-locus species phylogeny of African forest duikers in the subfamily Cephalophinae: evidence for a recent radiation in the Pleistocene. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 12, 2012, p. 120 ( [1] )
  8. ↑ Bettine Jansen van Vuuren and Terence J. Robinson: Retrieval of Four Adaptive Lineages in Duiker Antelope: Evidence from Mitochondrial DNA Sequences and Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 20 (3), 2001, pp. 409-425
  9. ↑ Alexandre Hassanin, Frédéric Delsuc, Anne Ropiquet, Catrin Hammer, Bettine Jansen van Vuuren, Conrad Matthee, Manuel Ruiz-Garcia, François Catzeflis, Veronika Areskoug, Trung Thanh Nguyen and Arnaud Couloux: Pattern and timing of diversification of Cetartiodactalia, Lauriala (Mammia ), as revealed by a comprehensive analysis of mitochondrial genomes. Comptes Rendus Palevol 335, 2012, pp. 32-50
  10. ^ Colin Groves: Current taxonomy and diversity of crown ruminants above the species level. Zitteliana B 32, 2014, pp. 5-14
  11. ^ John Edward Gray: Description of two new species of bush-buck (Cephalophus) from Western Africa. Annals an Magazine of Natural History 4 (12), 1873, pp. 42–44 ( [2] )
  12. ↑ Oldfield Thomas: On the antelopes of the genus Cephalolophus. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1892, S, 413-430 ( [3] )
  13. ^ Philip Lutley Sclater and Oldfield Thomas: The Book of Antelopes. Volume I. London, 1894–1900, pp. 153–154 ( [4] )
  14. ↑ Ludwig Lorenz von Libernau: contribution to the knowledge of hoofed animals of Central Africa. In: Scientific results of the Rudolf Grauer expedition to Central Africa, from December 1909 to February 1911. Annals of the Natural History Museum in Vienna 36, ​​1923, pp. 90–123 ( [5] )
  15. ↑ a b J. St. Leger: A key to the species and subspecies of the subgenus Cephalophus. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1936, pp. 209-228
  16. ↑ Colin Groves and Peter Grubb: Ungulate Taxonomy. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011, pp. 1–317 (SS 108–280)
  17. ^ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group: Cephalophus leucogaster. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. e.T4141A50182823 ( [6] ); last accessed on August 1, 2020

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