Yellow-backed duiker
The yellow-backed duiker is a shy, forest-dwelling antelope of the order Artiodactyla, from the family Bovidae. Yellow-backed duikers are the most widely-distributed of all duikers. They are found mainly in Central and Western Africa, ranging from Senegal and Gambia on the western coast, through to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to western Uganda; their distribution continues southward into Rwanda, Burundi, and most of Zambia.
Taxonomy and etymology
The scientific name of the yellow-backed duiker is Cephalophus silvicultor. It is the type species of Cephalophus, and placed in the subfamily Cephalophinae and family Bovidae. The species was first described by English botanist Adam Afzelius in the journal Nova Acta Regiæ Societatis Scientiarum Upsaliensis in 1815. The generic name has possibly originated from the combination of the New Latin word cephal, meaning head, and the Greek word lophos, meaning crest. The specific name silvicultor is composed by two Latin words: silva, meaning wood, and cultus, which relates to cultivation. This refers to its habitat.In 1981, Colin Groves and Peter Grubb identified three subgenera of Cephalophus: Cephalophula, Cephalpia and Cephalophus. They classified C. silvicultor under the third subgenus along with C. spadix, C. dorsalis and C. jentinki. This subgenus is characterized by minimal sexual dimorphism and spotted coats. C. silvicultor forms a superspecies with C. spadix.
Four subspecies are recognised:
- C. s. curticeps Grubb and Groves, 2002
- C. s. longiceps Gray, 1865
- C. s. ruficrista Bocage, 1869
- ''C. s. silvicultor''
Description
Yellow-backed duikers have a convex body shape, standing taller at the rump than the shoulders. They have very short horns, in length, which are cylindrical and ribbed at the base. An orange crest of hair can be found between their horns. Yellow-backed duikers get their name from the characteristic patch of yellow hairs on their rump, which stand when the duiker is alarmed or feels threatened. Yellow-backed duiker females often grow to be slightly larger than males. Coloration is very similar between sexes and very little sexual dimorphism exists. The head-and-body length is, with a short tail measuring. The yellow-backed duiker weighs in at about, making it the largest of its genus. It has a large mouth, throat and jaw musculature.Ecology
Habitat and behavior
Yellow-backed duikers are mainly forest dwelling and live in semi-deciduous forests, rain forests, riparian forests, and montane forests. However, they can be found in open bush, isolated forest islands, and clearings on the savanna as well. Their convex body shape is well-suited for forest living. It allows for quick movement through thick forest and bush and is reflective of ungulates accustomed to diving quickly into the underbrush for cover. In fact, duiker is the Afrikaans word for "diver."Duikers are very flighty and easily stressed, and when frightened or pursued will run almost blindly from a threat. At the Los Angeles Zoo, duikers were found to run headlong into the glass of their enclosures if startled. In captivity, duikers have been known to form stress-induced jaw abscesses.
Yellow-backed duikers are active at all times of the day and night. They live mainly solitarily or in couples, rarely in even small herds. Their elusive habits mean that very little is known about their ecology and demography compared to other ungulates.
The yellow-backed duiker can breed throughout the year, with many breeding two times each year. The female gives birth to one oro. The calf remains hidden during the first week of life and is weaned at 3 to 5 months after birth. Sexual maturity happens at 12 to 18 months in the male, and at 9 to 12 months in the female.
The lifespan is 10 to 12 years in the wild, while 22.5 years in the captivity.
Diet
These forest dwelling antelope feed selectively on plants or plant parts such as shoots, roots, leaves, and buds, but their diet is mainly made up of fruits. The yellow-backed duiker is more efficient at digesting poor quality food than most other duiker species. This allows them to eat large, low quality fruits. Their diet makes them very hard to keep in captivity as most domesticated fruits are not well suited to their low fiber requirements. They are considered concentrate selectors, meaning they eat "diets relatively low in fiber, have a well developed ability to forage selectively, a rumen bypass, a rapid passage and high fermentation rate for starch, and they frequently encounter toxins."Yellow-backed duikers are one of the few antelopes that can eat meat. Occasionally, these forest antelopes will kill and eat small animals, such as birds.