Duiker

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Duikers
Maxwell's Duiker, Cephalophus maxwellii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Cephalophinae Gray, 1871
Genera
Cephalophus Sylvicapra

A duiker is any of about 19 small to medium-sized antelope species native to sub-Saharan Africa.

Duikers are shy and elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; most are forest dwellers and even the species living in more open areas are quick to disappear into thickets. Their name comes from the Afrikaans word for diver and refers to their practice of diving into tangles of shrubbery.

With a slightly arched body and the front legs a little shorter than the hind legs, they are well-shaped to penetrate thickets. They are primarily browsers rather than grazers, eating leaves, shoots, seeds, fruit, buds and bark, and often follow flocks of birds or troops of monkeys to take advantage of the fruit they drop. They supplement their diet with meat: duikers take insects and carrion from time to time, and even stalk and capture rodents or small birds. The Blue Duiker has a fondness for ants.

• FAMILY BOVIDAE
  • Subfamily Bovinae: wild cattle and spiral-horned antelopes, 24 species in 9 genera
  • Subfamily Cephalophinae
    • Genus Cephalophus
      • Abbott's Duiker, Cephalophus spadix
      • Ader's Duiker, Cephalophus adersi
      • Bay Duiker, Cephalophus dorsalis
      • Black Duiker, Cephalophus niger
      • Black-fronted Duiker, Cephalophus nigrifrons
      • Blue Duiker, Cephalophus monticola
      • Harvey's Duiker, Cephalophus harveyi
      • Jentink's Duiker, Cephalophus jentinki
      • Maxwell's Duiker, Cephalophus maxwellii
      • Natal Duiker, Cephalophus natalensis
      • Ogilby's Duiker, Cephalophus ogilbyi
      • Peters's Duiker, Cephalophus callipygus
      • Red Forest Duiker, Cephalophus natalensis
      • Red-flanked Duiker, Cephalophus rufilatus
      • Ruwenzori Duiker, Cephalophus rubidis
      • Weyns's Duiker, Cephalophus weynsi
      • White-bellied Duiker, Cephalophus leucogaster
      • Yellow-backed Duiker, Cephalophus Sylvicultor
      • Zebra Duiker, Cephalophus zebra
    • Genus Sylvicapra
      • Common Duiker, Sylvicapra grimmia
  • Subfamily Hippotraginae: grazing antelopes. 23 species in 11 genera
  • Subfamily Antilopinae: gazelles, dwarf antelopes and the saiga, 38 species in 14 genera
  • Subfamily Caprinae: sheep, goats, Musk Ox and allies
  • Subfamily Panthalopinae: Chiru