Bay duiker

Cephalophus dorsalis

TAXONOMY

Cephalophus dorsalis Gray, 1846, Sierra Leone. Two subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Black-striped duiker; French: Céphalophe à bande dorsale noire, céphalophe bai; German: Schwarzrückenducker.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Medium to large duiker: length 28–40 in (70–100 cm); height 16–22 in (40–55 cm); weight 33–44 lb (15–20 kg). Has reddish brown coat, with blue or brown-gray legs and black dorsal stripe; white underside; white lips and lower chin. Smooth, short horns. Large maxillary glands.

DISTRIBUTION

Guinea-Bissau to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and as far south as Angola.

HABITAT

Dense lowland forests of West and Central Africa.

BEHAVIOR

Found alone or paired with mate or calf. Forage for food only between dusk and dawn.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Consumes mainly fruits, leaves, grasses, young branches and saplings, buds, and some insects and eggs. Occasionally will chase and kill small rodents, or other small animals.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Monogamous. Females reach sexual maturity between nine and 12 months of age, approximately 3–6 months earlier than the male. Calves are weaned early, by five months.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Labeled as a Lower Risk/Near Threatened species.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Hunted for bushmeat.

Bay Duiker
Conservation status
Near Threatened
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Cephalophinae Genus: Cephalophus Species: C. dorsalis
Binomial name
Cephalophus dorsalis Gray, 1849

The Bay Duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis also known as the Black-Backed Duiker) is a forest dwelling Duiker found in Gabon, southern Cameroon and northern Congo as well as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the southern parts of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Benin. It is believed by some to be a subspecies of Ogilby's Duiker.

Bay Duikers stand around 50 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weigh approximately 20 kilograms. Bay Duikers have a dark brown coat. There is a black stripe running along the back, from the nose to the tip of the tail and a white underside. There are spots above the eyes. Abbott's Duiker have small conical horns of 5 to 10 centimetres.

Bay Duikers live in dense rainforest, where they eat mainly plants, but also insects, eggs and small birds. Bay Duiker are nocturnal, spending the days at rest in thickets, buttress roots or even inside hollow trees. They form regular pathways through the dense undergrowth. Bay Duikers live alone or in pairs usually far from other Bay Duikers.

References

• Antelope Specialist Group (1996). Cephalophus dorsalis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.

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