The Maxwell's duiker (Philantomba maxwellii ) is a small antelope found in western Africa.
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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CursorialA cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. chee...
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ZoochoryZoochory animals are those that can disperse plant seeds in several ways. Seeds can be transported on the outside of vertebrate animals (mostly mam...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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SolitaryNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withMaxwell's duiker is a small antelope, as are the others in its genus. It is characterised by a slightly elevated back, short legs, a small head and short, round ears. According to measurements by Haltenorth, the head-and-body length is typically between 63 and 100 centimetres (25 and 39 in), and between 55 and 90 centimetres (22 and 35 in) excluding the head. It reaches 35–38 centimetres (14–15 in) at the shoulder, and weighs around 8–10 kilograms (18–22 lb). The tail, 8–10 centimetres (3.1–3.9 in) long, is bushy and lined with white. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism, as the females are slightly larger than the males. The coat is grayish brown, sometimes with a bluish tinge; the colour varies with individuals. A short tuft of hair circles the base of the horns and covers the area between them. The underbelly, in contrast with the dorsal parts, is generally white. Four teats are present.
Males, and sometimes females, possess straight, short, spiky horns. Heavily ringed and thick at the base, these measure 3.5–6 centimetres (1.4–2.4 in) in length. The length of the horns of the subspecies P. m. maxwelli rises from east to west, though this is not apparent in Ghana and the longest horns are observed in the western extremes of the range. The proportion of horned females reduces sharply from 100 percent in Nigeria and Togo to 5 out of 80 in Liberia. P. m. libriensis females generally lack horns; in populations where female grow horns, the males are observed to have longer horns. The broad skull, with a narrow, bare muzzle, is nearly 12.7 centimetres (5.0 in) long and 6.4 centimetres (2.5 in) wide. In P. m. maxwelli, the skull measurements tend to increase from east to west between Togo and Liberia, though this trend is not observed in the eastern and western extremes of the range.
The blue duiker bears a striking resemblance to Maxwell's duiker. However, the latter is nearly twice as large and heavier as the former, with a larger skull. While colouration is more uniform in Maxwell's duiker, the blue duiker shows two different colourations - there is a marked transition from the dorsal parts and the flanks to the rump. Another point of difference is the pedal gland (in the hooves), which has a simpler opening in the blue duiker.
The Maxwell duiker prefers areas with fresh and dense growth of shrubs and other plants. It inhabits the warm, moist lowland forests prevalent in western African countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The habitat also includes forest fringes, secondary, scrub and gallery forests and farmlands. The western limits of the range lie in southwestern Senegal and western Gambia, from where it extends as far east as the Cross River in Nigeria.
Maxwell's duiker has a preorbital gland known to be used for marking objects and members of the same species, especially by dominant males. It was one of the first animals observed using its preorbital gland for scent marking. It was shown that scent marking is also associated with individual recognition or social appeasement as male and females will often press these glands together on both sides of each other's faces.
The Maxwell duiker's diet mostly consists of fruits, seeds, secondary vegetation and shrubs. Maxwell's duiker and other duikers present in the same geographical area were found to have similar diets. Diets are subject to seasonal changes, with a shift towards vegetation and parts of flowers at the beginning of winter.
The animal's small size is reflected in its food choices. Due to its smaller mouth, body anatomy, and masseter muscle, it tends to concentrate on food items up to 3 cm in diameter, while larger species eat items up to 6 cm in diameter.
