Syncerus mathewsi Hodgson 1847
12. Virunga Buffalo Syncerus mathewsi French: Buffle de Mathews / German: Virunga-Buffel / Spanish: Blufalo de montana Other common names: Mountain Buffalo Taxonomy. Bos caffer mathews: Lydekker, 1904, Mfumbiro district, on a volcanic mountain west of Kiva, on the borderland between the Congo Free S...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Other/Unknown Material |
| Language: | unknown |
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Lynx Edicions
2011
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6636731 http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F50713995BFFE00377F4B2F90BF718 |
| Summary: | 12. Virunga Buffalo Syncerus mathewsi French: Buffle de Mathews / German: Virunga-Buffel / Spanish: Blufalo de montana Other common names: Mountain Buffalo Taxonomy. Bos caffer mathews: Lydekker, 1904, Mfumbiro district, on a volcanic mountain west of Kiva, on the borderland between the Congo Free State and German East Africa, in a forest at an elevation of between 7000 and 8000 feet. Modified by Lydekker in 1913 to Ruanda (= Rwanda), north-east of Lake Kivu, between Tanganyika and the Albert-Edward Nyanza. The Virunga Buffalo was traditionally considered merely an intermediate form between the Cape Buffalo (S. caffer) and the Forest Buffalo (S. nanus), but current evidence suggests that it is not simply an intergrade, but a homogeneous taxon distinct from all other African buffaloes. S. cotton: is a synonym. Monotypic. Distribution. Extreme SW Uganda, W Rwanda and E DR Congo (North Kivu province, where restricted to the forested mountains from the Virunga volcanoes north along the W side of Lake Edward). Descriptive notes. No specific measurements are available, but the Virunga Buffalo is about the same size as the Lake Chad Buffalo (S. brachyceros). The Virunga Buffalo is stocky in build, like other African buffaloes, with relatively short legs. Both sexes of the Virunga Buffalo have smooth, dark brown to black coats, often with reddish tones, especially on females. Reddish individuals have a dark dorsal stripe and dark shanks. The horns of the Virunga Buffalo are about the same length, but less widely spread, than the horns of the Lake Chad Buffalo, so that the length of each horn is only somewhat less than the total span. Horn span is 62:1-74. 5 cm, and horn length along the curve is 53-72 cm. In males, the bases of horns are expanded and flattened but do not form a convex boss, as they do in the Cape Buffalo. The skull is massive but short and broad, and convex in profile. The greatest length of the skull is 45-50. 8 cm, and the mastoid breadth is 25:9-30. 2 cm. The mouth is wide, and the nose is moist and ... |
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