Category: Animals
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Pygmy Sperm Whale, Kogia breviceps, name is derived from the milky-white substance found in the animal’s head named spermaceti oil due to its resemblance to semen. This oil was once very useful as fuel, industrial lubricant and cosmetic ingredient. Unlike the Dwarf cousin which lives over or near the edge of the continental shelf, the…
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Potto is an arboreal, nocturnal, frugivorous and insectivorous primate belonging to the Loridae family and Genus Perodicticus. Lorises are primates and are more closely related to humans, apes, Old World monkeys and New World monkeys than any other living nonhuman primate group. Of the four subspecies of the Perodicticus potto, juju and edwardsi is found…
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Red flanked Duiker is a species of duiker, also known as Diving Buck for its dexterity in diving. The Red flanked Duiker is a tiny, stocky duiker with a rounded back. They are classified in the family Bovidae and the subfamily Cephalophinae. Red-flanked duikers, called Èsúró in Yoruba, grow to almost 35 cm in height…
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Red-fronted gazelle, Eudorcas rufifrons takes its name from its reddish forehead that contrasts with paler eye markings. Coat is red-fawn and the underside and rump is white. Head and body length reaches 110 cm., shoulder height, 70 cm. It has an average adult weight of 30 kg. This Gazelle, scarcely found in the northernmost end of…
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Red river Hog, Potamochoerus porcus, called Túùkú in Yoruba, varies in physical characteristics across its range, especially with regard to coloration. West-African bush pigs are predominantly reddish with a white dorsal stripe. The shaggy, foxy red coat has contrasting black and white markings on the head, including a white eye ring. Fur is short except…
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Roan Antelope, Hippotragus equinus, called Àgbáñreré in Yoruba, is the most magnificent antelope of the Nigerian plains and scrublands, having a horse-like appearance with a dark-tipped mane. H. equinus kobc, which is the subspecies found in Nigeria, has contrasting black and white face markings, very long pointed ears with tufts on their tips. Males stand…
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Rock Hyrax, Procavia capensis, is a small marmot-like mammal with short stump for a tail, and padded soles adapted for increased traction allowing them negotiate steep and often smooth rock surfaces with great ease. The sweating feet also help in the animal’s climbing behavior. Rock hyraxes do not dig burrows and do not have adaptive…
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Rough-toothed Dolphin, Steno bredanensis, named for the subtle ridges and wrinkles on the teeth, is most readily distinguished by a forehead rising gradually from the narrow beak. The species has been described as looking reptilian in appearance. They have large flippers and a central dorsal fin. Average body mass is reported as 130 kg. Size…
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Savannah Swamp Shrew, Crocidura longipes is a very large chocolate-brown shrew with long hindfeet, having a long and pointed skull. It is also called the long-footed shrew. Known as Èkúté in Yoruba, shrews are generally small, chiefly insectivorous, mouse-like mammals that has a long pointed snout. This species, probably not widely distributed, is most common…
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Serval is an African cat of the wild, belonging to the genus Leptailurus and species serval. The serval have legs that are relatively long for its small body and ability, in spite of its slender build, to prey on larger hoofed mammals. It is called Ìjàkùmò in the Yoruba language. The serval, is like most…