Silver dik-dik

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).[3] Its back and flanks are grizzled silvery, while the limbs, ears, and muzzle are ochraceus in colour.[3] Little is known about its status, but numbers are believed to be decreasing.[1]

Silver dik-dik
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Genus: Madoqua
Species:
M. piacentinii
Binomial name
Madoqua piacentinii
Drake-Brockman, 1911[2]

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).[4][5] 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][6] the silver dik-dik has been suggested as a subspecies of Swayne's dik-dik[4] (itself now usually treated as a subspecies of Salt's dik-dik).[5]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). "Madoqua piacentinii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 29 March 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of data deficient.
  2. Drake-Brockman, R. E. (1911). "On Antelopes of the Genera Madoqua and Rhynchotragus found in Somaliland". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (4): 978–980. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1911.tb01968.x.
  3. Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-408355-2
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
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