The Black Duiker ranges from Guinea to Southwestern Nigeria. This area includes the following countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Black Duikers are heavily built: short, stocky legs; long body; long head. They are dark brown to black in color. The bridge of their nose and other parts of their head are more reddish in color. They have bare nasal speculums and pointed hooves. Both sexes have horns. The male's are between 7.5 and 17.5 cm. The female's horns are between 2.5 and 3 cm. The body is between 80 and 90 cm long. The tail is between 12 and 14 cm long. The underside of the tail is white. The shoulder height is 45 to 50 cm. And they weigh between 15 and 20 kg.
Range mass: 15 to 20 kg.
Range length: 80 to 90 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
C. niger is a terrestrial animal that is found in several different areas of the forest. It lives in areas of the rainforest and in in other forests. It can be found on the edges of these forests, in bushes and thickets. It can also be found in shrublands and degraded forests. (Walther, 1990).
Habitat Regions: tropical
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest
Habitat and Ecology
Black Duikers eat a wide variety of foods. Fruits and foliage are the most common, however, their diet also includes everything from insects to eggs. It is possible that they occasionally eat birds, also.
Foods eaten include: flowers, leaves, buds, young shoots, grasses, herbs, berries, fruits, termites, ants, snails and eggs.
Animal Foods: birds; eggs; insects; mollusks
Plant Foods: leaves; fruit
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Frugivore )
Niger Delta Terrestrial Vertebrate Associates
The Niger Delta is an enormous classic distributary system located in West Africa, which stretches more than 300 kilometres wide and serves to capture most of the heavy silt load carried by the Niger River. The peak discharge at the mouth is around 21,800 cubic metres per second in mid-October. The Niger Delta coastal region is arguably the wettest place in Africa with an annual rainfall of over 4000 millimetres. Vertebrate species richness is relatively high in the Niger Delta, although vertebrate endemism is quite low. The Niger Delta swamp forests occupy the entire upper coastal delta. Historically the most important timber species of the inner delta was the Abura (Fleroya ledermannii), a Vulnerable swamp-loving West African tree, which has been reduced below populations viable for timber harvesting in the Niger Delta due to recent over-harvesting of this species as well as general habitat destruction of the delta due to the expanding human population here. Other plants prominent in the inner delta flood forest are: the Azobe tree (Lophira alata), the Okhuen tree (Ricinodendron heudelotii ), the Bitter Bark Tree (Sacoglottis gabonensis), the Rough-barked Flat-top Tree (Albizia adianthifolia), and Pycnanthus angolensis. Also present in its native range is the African Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis)
There are a number of notable mammals present in the inner coastal delta, including the limited range Black Duiker (Cephalophus niger), a near-endemic to the Niger River Basin. In addition, the Endangered Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) is found in the Niger Delta. The near-endemic White-cheeked Guenon (Cercopithecus erythrogaster, VU) is found in the inner delta. The Critically Endangered Niger Delta Red Colubus (Procolobus pennantii ssp. epieni), which primate is endemic to the Niger Delta is also found in the inner delta. The restricted distribution Mona Monkey (Cercopithecus mona), a primate often associated with rivers, is found here in the Niger Delta. The Near Threatened Olive Colobus (Procolobus verus) is restricted to coastal forests of West Africa and is found here in the upper delta.
Some of the reptiles found in the upper coastal Niger Delta are the African Banded Snake (Chamaelycus fasciatus); the West African Dwarf Crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis, VU); the African Slender-snouted Crocodile (Mecistops cataphractus); the Benin Agama (Agama gracilimembris); the Owen's Chameleon (Chamaeleo oweni); the limited range Marsh Snake (Natriciteres fuliginoides); the rather widely distributed Black-line Green Snake (Hapsidophrys lineatus); Cross's Beaked Snake (Rhinotyphlops crossii), an endemic to the Niger Basin as a whole; Morquard's File Snake (Mehelya guirali); the Dull Purple-glossed Snake (Amblyodipsas unicolor); the Rhinoceros Viper (Bitis nasicornis). In addition several of the reptiles found in the outer delta are found within this inner delta area.
Five threatened marine turtle species are found in the mangroves of the lower coastal delta: Leatherback Sea Turtle (Dermochelys coricea, EN), Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta, EN), Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea, EN), Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretomychelys imbricata, CR), and Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas, EN).
Other reptiles found in the outer NIger Delta are the Nile Crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), African Softshell Turtle (Trionyx triunguis), African Rock Python (Python sebae), Boomslang Snake (Dispholidus typus), Cabinda Lidless Skink (Panaspis cabindae), Neon Blue Tailed Tree Lizard (Holaspis guentheri), Fischer's Dwarf Gecko (Lygodactylus fischeri), Richardson's Leaf-Toed Gecko (Hemidactylus richardsonii), Spotted Night Adder (Causus maculatus), Tholloni's African Water Snake (Grayia tholloni), Smith's African Water Snake (Grayia smythii), Small-eyed File Snake (Mehelya stenophthalmus), Western Forest File Snake (Mehelya poensis), Western Crowned Snake (Meizodon coronatus), Western Green Snake (Philothamnus irregularis), Variable Green Snake (Philothamnus heterodermus), Slender Burrowing Asp (Atractaspis aterrima), Forest Cobra (Naja melanoleuca), Rough-scaled Bush Viper (Atheris squamigera), and Nile Monitor (Varanus niloticus).
There are a limited number of amphibians in the inner coastal delta including the Marble-legged Frog (Hylarana galamensis). At the extreme eastern edge of the upper delta is a part of the lower Niger and Cross River watersheds that drains the Cross-Sanaka Bioko coastal forests, where the near endemic anuran Cameroon Slippery Frog (Conraua robusta) occurs.
- leopards (Panthera pardus)
- eagles (Accipitridae)
- African golden cats (Profelis aurata)
- Lybian wild cats (Felis silvestris)
- servals (Leptailurus serval)
- civets (Viverridae)
- large owls (Strigiformes)
- crocodiles (Crocodylus)
- monitor lizards (Varanus)
- pythons (Boidae)
Known prey organisms
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
Life History and Behavior
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
The lifespan of C. niger is between 10 and 12 years.
Status: wild: 10 to 12 years.
Status: captivity: 14.8 years.
Lifespan, longevity, and ageing
There does not seem to be a restricted breeding season in C. niger. Females reach sexual maturity between ages 9 and 12 months. Males reach sexual maturity between ages 12 and 18 months. Gestation lasts about 7 months. Only 1 offspring is born per birth; and the offspring weighs about 1 kg. Weaning lasts no longer than 5 months.
Range number of offspring: 1 (low) .
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 4.2 to 7 months.
Range weaning age: 5 (high) months.
Average weaning age: 5 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 9 to 18 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 9 to 18 months.
Key Reproductive Features: year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal )
Parental Investment: altricial
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Cephalophus niger
Public Records: 0
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1
C. niger is one of the most common duikers in Africa. Still, it suffers from overhunting. It is considered to be rare and endangered in Sierra Leone, Togo, and Nigeria (Kingdon, 1997). However, the IUCN has it ranked as a lower risk species, that is, near threatened. Many are killed each year for meat and skins. Stricter rules on the bushmeat trade would help the status of this mammal.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Humans use the Black Duiker for its meat and its skin.
Positive Impacts: food ; body parts are source of valuable material
Black duikers stand around 500 mm (20 in) tall at the shoulder and weigh 15 to 20 kg (33 to 44 lb). They have, not surprisingly, black coats. The head is a rust colour with a large red crest between the ears. Black duikers have long, thin horns of 80 to 170 mm (3.1 to 6.7 in), but the horns of females reach only 30 mm (1.2 in).
Black duikers live mainly in lowland rainforest, where they eat fruit, flowers, and leaves which have fallen from the canopy. They are probably diurnal, though this is surmised only from captive specimens. Black duiker are reported to be solitary, territorial animals.
The mating season of the black duikers is year round, but more offspring are born from November to January. The gestation period lasts 126 days, and is thus comparably short, usually only one young is born. Its average weight is 1.94 kg; it is weaned around 90 days of age. The birth interval is seven and a half months. In captivity, the black duiker lives up to 14 years.
- IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Cephalophus niger. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
- Th. Haltenorth; H. Diller: Säugetiere Afrikas und Madagaskars. BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, ISBN 978 3405 11392 6 Jonathan Kingdon: The Kingdon Pocket Guide to Afrikan Mammals. A&C Black Publishers Ltd., London, 2004, ISBN 978 0 7136 6981 7
C. P. Groves & D. M. Leslie, Jr.: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: D. E. Wilson und R. A. Mittermeier (Hrsg.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, 2011 (S. 764-765) ISBN 978-849-655-377-4 Cephalophus niger in der Roten Liste gefährdeter Arten der IUCN 2012.2. Eingestellt von: IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, 2008. Abgerufen am 23. Oktober 2012