Oreotragus schillingsi Neumann 1902
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Bovidae
Oreotragus
Oreotragus schillingsi

description: 275.
Masai Klipspringer
Oreotragus schillingsi
French: Oréotrague de Schillings / German: Massai-Klippspringer / Spanish: Saltarrocas de Schillings
Taxonomy. Oreotragus schillingsi Neumann, 1902,
Dunje Ngaptuk, north-west of Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
Formerly considered a synonym of O. saltatrixoides. Monotypic.
Distribution. Kenya, S of Mt Kenya, W to the Dodoth Hills (Uganda), and S to Lake Rukwa, Tanzania.
Descriptive notes. Head-body 77-84 cm (males), tail 6.9-8 cm (both sexes), ear 8-5—8-7 cm (males) and 9-3 cm (females), hindfoot 22-22. 8 cm (males) and 23-8 cm (females). Sexual dimorphism in this species is extreme among klipspringers; the female is much larger than the male. Skull length is 13.5-13. 9 cm in males and 14.6-14. 7 cm in females. The Masai Klipspringer is also unique in that the female has horns; horn length is 8:2.8-7 cm in males and 6.7-9. 5 cm in females. J. Kingdon stated that the possession of hornsis not constant in this form, but T. Roosevelt and E. Heller were quite clear that itis: “none of the females show rudimentary horns or any evidence of transition to the hornless condition of the races inhabiting the country north or south of them.” General color very rich, bright orange, with contrasting gray legs and dark pasterns; the mid-back region is darker. There is some variation in color; some individuals are a pale yellow on the foreparts.
Habitat. Masai Klipspringers occupy rocky areas, like other klipspringers.
Food and Feeding. A concentrate selector, like other klipspringers.
Breeding. There is no specific information available for this species. In other klipspringers, weaning is at 4-5 months.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species. Other klipspringers are diurnal and crepuscular, with more activity in the mornings and evenings than at midday.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The territories of this species, which has been studied in two Kenyan localities, Tsavo National Park and Gilgil, average less than 2 ha, whereas in all other species territories are much greater than this, suggesting that the females, being large and having horns, are as competitive as the males or more so. This supports the Female Competition Hypothesis: the rate of aggressive contests between females selects for having horns, rather than the size of the groups. In the Serengeti, Tanzania, the territories may be seasonal; during the dry season, a group of kopjes was unoccupied, but three pairs of klipspringers arrived after the rains had begun and reestablished themselves there.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (under O. oreotragus). Oreotragus taxa, except the Nigerian Klipspringer (O. o. porteousi), are not considered separately by IUCN.
Bibliography. Estes (1991), Groves & Grubb (2011), Kingdon (1982), Roberts (1996), Roosevelt & Heller (1914).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, pp. 444-779 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 736, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6512484