The Suni (''Nesotragus moschatus'') is a small

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

. It occurs in dense underbrush from central Kenya to

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

in South Africa. Suni are around high at the shoulder and weigh . They are usually reddish brown, darker on their back than their sides and legs. The belly, chin, throat and insides of legs are white. The nostrils are prominent red, and there are black rings around the eyes and above the hooves. Males have horns long, that are ridged most of their length and curve backwards close to their heads. Females do not have horns. Suni can make weak barking and whistling sounds. Suni feed on leaves, fungi, fruits and flowers, and need almost no free water. They are shy, most active at night, and sleep during the day in a shady, sheltered area. They are social but males defend a territory of about three hectares. They scent-mark the boundaries with secretions from their

preorbital gland The preorbital gland is a paired exocrine gland found in many species of hoofed animals, which is homologous to the lacrimal gland found in humans. These glands are trenchlike slits of dark blue to black, nearly bare skin extending from the med ...

s. There may be an individual or

communal dung pile Dung middens, also known as ''dung hills'',''The New Encyclopaedia of Mammals'' D MacDonald 2002 Oxford are piles of dung that mammals periodically return to and build up. They are used as a form of territorial marker. A range of animals are know ...

on the periphery of the territory. A male usually takes one mate, but other females may share his territory. A single calf is born weighing about two pounds, after a

gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...

of 183 days. Felids, raptors, snakes, and other meat-eaters prey on suni. For protection, they are well camouflaged in dry grass and keep very still. When a predator is almost on top of them, they spring out and bound away into the underbrush.

Taxonomy and etymology

The

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

of the suni is ''Nesotragus moschatus''. It is placed in the genus ''

Nesotragus ''Nesotragus'' is a genus of dwarf antelope comprising two species, endemic to Africa, and formerly but incorrectly considered a synonym of the similarly named genus '' Neotragus''. Recent nucleic acid studies demonstrate that the two species of ...

'' - along with (formerly)

Bates's pygmy antelope Bates's pygmy antelope (''Nesotragus batesi''), also known as the dwarf antelope, pygmy antelope''The New Encyclopaedia of Mammals'' D MacDonald 2002 Oxford or Bates' dwarf antelope, is a very small antelope living in the moist forest and brush ...

(''Nesotragus batesi'') - and in the family Bovidae. The common name "suni" is the name for this antelope in southeastern Africa. Four

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are identified, though these are sometimes considered to be independent species: *''N. m. kirchenpaueri'' (Pagenstecher, 1885) *''N. m. livingstonianus'' (Kirk, 1865) *''N. m. moschatus'' (Von Dueben, 1846) *''N. m. zuluensis'' ( Thomas, 1898)

Description

The suni is a small

, but larger than the other two species of its genus. This antelope resembles Bates's pygmy antelope in terms of cranial measurements. The suni stands at the shoulder; the head-and-body length is typically between . Both sexes weigh between . Horns are present only on males; sexual dimorphism in the suni is less marked than in Bates's pygmy antelope.

Threats and conservation

Populations of the suni have been notably reduced due to poaching, habitat loss and predation by dogs - especially in South Africa, where it is confined mainly to the northeastern

. Nevertheless, the antelope is known for its tolerance to heavy hunting pressure, and is listed as a species of Least Concern.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q657984 Dwarf antelopes Mammals of Kenya Mammals of South Africa Fauna of East Africa Mammals of Zimbabwe Mammals of Malawi Mammals of Mozambique Mammals of Tanzania Mammals described in 1846