Aders's duiker (''Cephalophus adersi''), also known as ''nunga'' in Swahili, ''kunga marara'' in Kipokomo and ''harake'' in Giriama, is a small, forest-dwelling

duiker A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophinae ...

found only in

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

and

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. It may be a subspecies of the red,

Harvey's Harvey's is a fast food restaurant chain operating in Canada, with locations in every province except British Columbia. It serves hamburgers, poutine, hot dogs, french fries, onion rings, and other traditional Canadian cuisine, Canadian fast-food ...

, or Peters's duiker or a hybrid of a combination of these. A 2022 study proposed to move ''C. adersi'' into its own new genus, ''Leucocephalophus''. It is named after W. Mansfield Aders, a zoologist with the Zanzibar Government Service.

Characteristics

The Aders's duiker stands at around tall at the shoulder. Its weight varies greatly depending on geographical location; those in eastern Zanzibar weigh , while those in the south weigh only . Its coat is reddish-brown, grayer on the neck, and lighter down the backside and underneath. A small red crest runs along the head. It also has small, simple horns of . The muzzle is pointed, and the nose has a flat front. The ears measure long, with a marked cowlick or whorl of hair on the nape of the neck.

Distribution and habitat

Aders's duikers live primarily in coastal forests and woodlands in Africa. The species can live in quite dry scrub near the sea or among coral outcrops; in Zanzibar, they are restricted to tall thicket forest growing on waterless coral rag. In Arabuko Sokoke (Kenya), they are most often trapped within '' Cynometra'' vegetation, especially on "red soil". ''C. adersi'' is sympatric with ''C. harveyi'' on the mainland and with ''C. monticola sundevalli'' on Zanzibar, although nothing is known regarding their ecological separation.

Ecology and behavior

The species is very shy, alert, and sensitive to sound. As a result, common methods of hunting include the brute-force method of driving the duikers into nets with dogs, or silent ambush at feeding sites. Aders's duikers live in coastal

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

thicket A thicket is a very dense stand of trees or tall shrubs, often dominated by only one or a few species, to the exclusion of all others. They may be formed by species that shed large numbers of highly viable seeds that are able to germinate in th ...

s and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s, where they eat

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

, and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

which has fallen from the

forest canopy In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, the canopy is the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and includ ...

. The species appears to be diurnal, as it is rarely seen active at night. Typical feeding patterns are from dawn to late morning, which is followed by a period of rest and rumination. At midafternoon, Aders's duikers generally become active, and will continue foraging until nightfall. They are generally solitary or found in small groups of two or three. They often pick up scraps dropped by monkeys and birds foraging in the trees. The species shows a particular dependence on the flowers and berries which grow prolifically from trees common to the area, such as ebony ('' Diospyros consolatae''), kudu berry ('' Cassine aethiopica'') and bush guarri (''

Euclea racemosa ''Euclea racemosa'' (the sea guarrie or dune guarrie) is a small to medium-sized Evergreen, evergreen tree that is indigenous to the Indian Ocean coast of Africa from Egypt to South Africa, as well as in Comoros, Oman and Yemen. ''Euclea racemos ...

''), and bushes such as turkey berry ('' Canthium'' spp.) and '' Polyspheria''. In addition to these, they will eat sprouts, buds, and other fresh growth found at ground level. This duiker species can apparently manage without drinking, getting most of the hydration they need from their diets. These duikers have extremely specific habitat requirements, being found only in areas of old-growth thicket, with the highest population densities (11.4±5.18 per km²) recorded in relatively undisturbed high thicket. However, Kanga (1999) did report some Aders's duikers in secondary thicket. In the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest in Kenya, Aders's duikers inhabit regions of '' Cyanometra'' forest. Not much is known of its reproductive habits, although they may breed all year long.

Conservation

They are threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, feral dogs, and overhunting. They are particularly sought by humans due to their soft skin and meat. The population in

had declined from 5000 in 1983 to 640 in 1999, and it will probably continue to decrease rapidly. They are listed as vulnerable by IUCN. In

, the duiker is present at very low densities, though the decline is probably not as severe as the other population. Several conservation plans have been made, and a captive-breeding program has been proposed.

References

External links

Aders's duiker at ARKive

{{Taxonbar, from=Q925139, from2=Q125375867 Aders's duiker Zanzibar Mammals of Kenya Aders's duiker Aders's duiker