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duiker

duiker, name for members of a group of small, light antelopes, found in thick brush and forest over most of Africa. All stand under 25 in. (64 cm) high at the shoulder. They have arched backs, pointed faces, and short, sharp, straight horns; in most species the horns are present in both sexes. Solitary, mostly nocturnal animals, they dive into the brush when threatened; duiker means "diver" in Afrikaans. Although primarily browsers, they are less exclusively vegetarian than other antelopes. Their diet includes grasses, leaves, twigs, insects, and snails. The gray, or common, duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia, is found from Ethiopia to the Cape of Good Hope and W to Senegal. It stands up to 25 in. and weighs up to 30 lb (14 kg). The local races vary in color from fawn to bluish gray. Females are usually hornless. The many kinds of forest duiker and blue duiker are species of the genus Cephalophus. The blue duikers, found in W and central Africa, stand only 14 in. (36 cm) at the shoulder. Duikers are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

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duiker

Zebra duiker (Cephalophus zebra).

Any of 19 species of small, shy antelope. They live in most of Africa but are rarely seen by humans. The gray, or bush, duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) has long legs and lives where there is bush or grass cover. It stands 22–26 in. (57–67 cm) tall at the shoulder. Only males have horns, which are short and straight. Forest duikers (18 species, genus Cephalophus) are short-legged, hunchbacked animals that live in dense brush and in forests. They stand 14–18 in. (36–46 cm) tall and vary from pale brown through reddish brown to nearly black. Both sexes have short, straight horns.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.