Silver dik-dik

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Silver dik-dik
Scientific classification
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M. piacentinii
Binomial name
Madoqua piacentinii
Drake-Brockman, 1911

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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).[2] Its back and flanks are grizzled silvery, while the limbs, ears and muzzle are ochraceus in colour.[2] Little is known about its status, but numbers are believed to be decreasing.[1]

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).[3][4] 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][5] the silver dik-dik has been suggested as a subspecies of the Swayne's dik-dik[3] (itself now usually treated as a subspecies of the Salt's dik-dik).[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Madoqua piacentinii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 29 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of data deficient.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kingdon, J. (1997). The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-408355-2
  3. 3.0 3.1 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.
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