Yellow-backed duiker
| Yellow-backed duiker | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Genus: | Cephalophus |
| Species: | C. silvicultor |
| Binomial name | |
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Cephalophus silvicultor (Afzelius, 1815) |
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| Synonyms | |
The yellow-backed duiker (Cephalophus silvicultor) is a forest dwelling antelope in the order Artiodactyla from the family Bovidae. Yellow-backed duikers are the most widely distributed of all the duikers. They are found mainly in Central and Western Africa, ranging from Senegal to Western Uganda with a possible few in Gambia. Their range also extends southward into Ruanda, Burunidi, Zaire, and most of Zambia.
The scientific name of the yellow-backed duiker is Cephalophus sylvicultor. 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 (Abbott's duiker), C. dorsalis (bay duiker) and C. jentinki (Jentink's duiker). This subgenus is characterised by minimal sexual dimorphism and spotted coats (of juveniles). C. silvicultor forms a superspecies with C. spadix.
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