Although the term antelope is one in common use, and most of the members of the group are easily recognized, it is exceedingly difficult to distinguish antelopes as a whole. Antelopes are the most generalized members of the present family now existing, and since they are its oldest known representatives, it is probable that from them have been derived the more specialized types.
As a whole, antelopes are characterized by their graceful build, and by the head being carried considerably above the level of the back. The horns, which may or may not be present in the females. are generally long and more or less cylindrical. These animals very generally have a gland beneath the eye, by which they are distinguished from the oxen and goats; but, as regards their teeth, some of them resemble the oxen, while others approximate to the sheep and goats.
Antelopes (in the proper sense of the word) are primarily found in Africa. There are other types of antelopes, such as the eland, kudu, harnessed antelopes, guib, the naigal, the addax, oryx, and and the sable antelope and roan antelope.
The sable and roan antelopes, together with some allied species, constitute an exclusively African genus. They are distinguished by the stout horns, which are ringed nearly to their tips, rising vertically from a ridge on the skull immediately over the eyes at an obtuse angle to the plane of the lower part of the face, and then curving in a bold sweep backwards.
The roan or equine antelope is the largest and one of the best known representatives of the genus. Perhaps the handsomest member of the genus is the sable antelope, which is smaller than the roan antelope, but has much longer horns, smaller ears, and a longer more abundant mane. With the exception of portions of the face, buttocks, and the underparts, the fur is entirely of a deep glossy black; the contrast formed by the white of the under-parts being very striking; the markings on the face differ from those of the roan antelope in that the white streak in front of the eyes is continued to join the white of the muzzle, and is separated by a dark streak from that of the throat. The horns of the males not infrequently attain a length of 42 or 43 inches, but they may reach as much as 44 1/2 or even 46 inches along the curve. In the females 36 inches seems to be the maximum.
The sable antelope is a southern species, which generally frequents forest-clad highlands. It is commonly met with in herds of from ten to twenty individuals, although occasionally as many as fifty may be seen together.
