Salt's dik-dik

Salt's dik-dik (Madoqua saltiana) is a small antelope found in semidesert, bushland and thickets in the Horn of Africa, but marginally also in northern Kenya and eastern Sudan. It is named after Henry Salt who discovered it in Abyssinia in the early 19th century.

Description

Salt's dik-dik are 52–67 cm (20–26 in) long, 33–41 cm (13–16 in) high and weigh 2.5–4.0 kg (5.5–8.8 lb). As in other dik-diks, the small, pointed horns are only present in the male. The colour varies significantly depending on the subspecies.

Taxonomy

Together with the closely related silver dik-dik, this species forms the subgenus Madoqua in the genus Madoqua (other dik-diks are also in the genus Madoqua, but the subsgenus Rhynchotragus). The taxonomy of this subgenus is complex and a matter of dispute. Today, the most widely used treatment is based on a review in 1978, but a significantly different treatment was presented in a review in 1972. Following the review in 1978, the silver dik-dik is treated as a separate monotypic species, and the Salt's dik-dik has five subspecies: