duiker

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

For Students

duiker summary

Read Next

American bison (Bison bison) also known as buffalo or plains buffalo on the prairie, western U.S.

What’s the Difference Between Bison and Buffalo?

Spider monkey swinging in a tree. (primate, jungle animal)

Why Do Animals Have Tails?

cat. orange and white persian cat with long hair, snarl, growl, teeth

7 Questions About Mammals Answered

animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.

Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World

Discover

Fish. Lionfish. Lion-fish. Turkey fish. Fire-fish. Red lionfish. Pterois volitans. Venomous fin spines. Coral reefs. Underwater. Ocean. Red lionfish swims by seaweed.

10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish

A mug shot taken by the regional Colombia control agency in Medellin

Pablo Escobar: 8 Interesting Facts About the King of Cocaine

9 Mind-Altering Plants

Nativity Scene, Adoration of the Magi, Church of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Montenegro

Why Is Christmas in December?

Watergate scandal. Richard M. Nixon. President Nixon gives a press conference and talks to the press, March 12, 1971.

9 American Political Scandals

What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?

Facsimile of one of William Henry Ireland's forgeries, a primitive self-portrait of William Shakespeare(tinted engraving). Published for Samuel Ireland, Norfolk Street, Strand, December 1, 1795. (W.H. Ireland, forgery)

The Time a Law Clerk Successfully Forged a New Shakespeare Play to Impress His Dad

duiker

mammal

Also known as: Cephalophini

Written by Richard Estes

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Related Topics:: black-fronted duiker; Peters’ duiker; white-bellied duiker; forest duiker; yellow-backed duiker

See all related content

duiker, (tribe Cephalophini), any of 17 or 18 species of forest-dwelling antelopes (subfamily Cephalophinae, family Bovidae) found only in Africa. Duiker derives from the Afrikaans duikerbok (“diving buck”), which describes the sudden headlong flight of duikers flushed from hiding. No other tribe of African antelopes contains so many species, yet duikers are so similar except in size that 16 species are placed in the same genus, Cephalophus. Only the bush, or gray, duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), which is adapted to the savanna biome, is placed in a separate genus. Like most antelopes that live in closed habitats and rely on concealment ...(100 of 549 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.