Smith’s Dik Dik is a new species split from Günther's dik-dik (Madoqua guentheri), which is a small antelope found in arid zones of East Africa. Since very little literature is available for this species, I will provide the information on Gunther’s below:

Günther's dik-dik is one of the smallest ungulates in Africa, weighing 3–5 kilograms (6.6–11.0 lb) when fully grown. It has a yellowish-gray to reddish-brown coat, black hooves, small heads with long necks and large ears with white insides. Belly, chin, breast, throat and inner thighs are cream or white. The tail is short (~3–5 cm). Males are horned, with horn length (~9.8 cm) varying between individuals. Although the horn cores are only present in males, gender identification can be difficult from a distance. Females are larger and lack horns.

Four subspecies have been proposed based on size and pelage features, but have not yet been analyzed genetically.

The species is found in the lowlands of Ethiopia, most of the northern and eastern regions of Kenya, Somalia excluding specific regions of the coast, limited regions of southeastern Sudan, and northeastern Uganda. They avoid coastal regions. Typical habitat includes low thicket-type vegetation in thornbush, savanna grassland and riverine woodland biomes, and extends to disturbed and overgrazed areas. Habitat overlaps with other small antelope species such as Kirk's dik-dik.

Günther's dik-dik is a browser rather than a grazer, feeding mainly on the leaves, flowers, stems, fruits and seeds of non-grasses. The species feeds on plants close to the ground, due to its small stature. It is primarily diurnal, with activity peaks from dawn until mid-morning and mid-afternoon until after dark. The species is monogamous; parents and calves do not form family groups for prolonged periods, and the calf is driven out at an early age to fend for itself. Only a single calf is born at a time. The species does not breed seasonally and can have late gestation periods.

While it has a limited vocal repertoire, the species has been shown to make use of the alarm calls of other species, for example responding with increased vigilance or flight behaviour to the alarm calls of the white-bellied go-away-bird.

The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, as it appears to be common throughout its range. Total population size is estimated as at least 500,000 individuals. It is hunted for meat, but not commercially. Habituation to human presence may have a negative fitness effect on individuals, but this has not yet been verified.

Smith’s Dik Dik (Madoqua smithii) - Samburu National Park Kenya

Salt's dik-dik (Madoqua saltiana) is a small antelope found in semidesert, bushland, and thickets in the Horn of Africa, but marginally also in northern Kenya and eastern Sudan. It is named after Henry Salt, who was the first European to acknowledge the species in Abyssinia in the early 19th century.

Salt's dik-diks are 52–67 cm (20–26 in) long, 33–41 cm (13–16 in) high, and weigh 2.5–4.0 kg (5.5–8.8 lb). As in other dik-diks, the small, pointed horns are only present in the male. Their colour varies significantly depending on the subspecies.

Together with the closely related silver dik-dik, this species forms the subgenus Madoqua in the genus Madoqua (other dik-diks are also in the genus Madoqua, but the subsgenus Rhynchotragus). The taxonomy of this subgenus is complex and a matter of dispute. Today, the most widely used treatment is based on a review in 1978, but a significantly different treatment was presented in a review in 1972. Following the review in 1978, the silver dik-dik is treated as a separate monotypic species, and Salt's dik-dik has five subspecies:

• M. s. saltiana is found from northern Ethiopia to Eritrea and far eastern Sudan, and is relatively large with a reddish-grey back.

• M. s. hararensis is found in the Hararghe region in eastern Ethiopia, and has a gingery back and dark red flanks.

• M. s. lawrenci is found in eastern and southeastern Somalia, and has a silvery back and russet flanks.

• M. s. phillipsi is found in Somaliland, and its back is grey and flanks are orange.

• M. s. swaynei is found in the Jubba Valley region of southern Ethiopia, southern Somalia, and far northern Kenya; its back is brown-grey.

In 2003, each of the above was proposed to represent an evolutionary species, but at present, most maintain them as subspecies. The review in 1972 differed significantly from the above. Under that treatment, three species are recognized in the subgenus Madoqua: Salt's sik-dik (M. saltiana with the subspecies saltiana and cordeauxi), Phillip's dik-dik (M. phillipsi with the subspecies phillipsi, gubanensis, hararensis, and lawrencei), and Swayne's dik-dik (M. swaynei with the subspecies swaynei, erlangeri, and piancentinii). Of these taxa, M. s. cordeauxi, M. p. gubanensis, and M. p. erlangeri were considered entirely invalid in 1978.

Salt’s Dik Dik (Madoqua saltiana) - Ali Dege Plains Ethiopia

Kirk's dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii) is a small antelope native to Eastern Africa and one of four species of dik-dik antelope. It is believed to have six subspecies and possibly a seventh existing in southwest Africa. Dik-diks are herbivores, typically of a fawn color that aids in camouflaging themselves in savannah habitats. According to MacDonald (1985), they are also capable of reaching speeds up to 42 km/hour. The lifespan of Kirk's dik-dik in the wild is typically 5 years, but may surpass 10 years. In captivity, males have been known to live up to 16.5 years, while females have lived up to 18.4 years.

The dik-dik's name is derived from its call. When they feel threatened, dik-diks lie low to prevent detection. If they are discovered, they run in a swift, zigzag-like pattern until they reach refuge in a nearby thicket. During this ‘flight’, they emit trumpet-like "zik-zik" calls to raise an alarm or to harass predators and publicize the presence of a mated pair.

Dik-diks are some of the world's smallest antelopes, with the largest, the Kirk's dik-dik, standing between 14 and 18 inches tall and weighing no more than 7.2 kg (16 lb). Female dik-diks tend to be 1 to 2 pounds heavier than males. They are dainty creatures with a pointed, mobile snout, large eyes and ears, prominent preorbital glands, pipestem legs, hare-like hind limbs that are significantly larger than their forelimbs, and a vestigial tail. Their coats, depending upon their habitat, range from grey to gray-brown with tan flanks, limbs, and an erectile head crest and whitish eye rings, ear lining, underparts, and rump.

Only male dik-diks sport horns, which are about 3 in (8 cm) long, corrugated, and backward-slanted. Horns of male Kirk's dik-diks may be straight or curved backwards from the profile of the face, and the basal half of the horns have seven to nine annular ridges that are frequently covered by the crest. Kirk's dik-diks are sexually dimorphic; females are larger and lack horns, while males sport a more developed muzzle, have a longer crest, and tend to be lighter in color. Though physically very similar, Kirk's dik-dik can be distinguished from Guenthers’ dik-dik by its longer nasals and premaxillae and shorter proboscis, which gives the head a more wedged-shaped profile than that of Guenther's dik-dik.

Kirk's dik-diks are highly adapted to surviving in the arid regions of eastern Africa. They have a hairy proboscis with tiny, slit-like nostrils, a feature that is most pronounced in Guenther's dik-diks. This proboscis contains an enlarged nasal chamber supplied with a rich amount of blood that is cooled by rapid nasal panting. Panting through their snouts leads to airflow and evaporation that cools the blood before it is pumped back into the body. This process is also efficient, because it results in a minimal loss of water in the exhaled air. Water- and energy-conserving methods, such as fluctuating body temperatures, lowered metabolic rates, concentrated urine, and dry feces, all contribute to the ability of the dik-dik to survive harsh arid climates. Further, they also conserve fluids by licking dew from their nose and reabsorbing water from their feces. When compared to cattle, dik-diks have a significantly lower density of sweat glands.

Behaviorally, dik-diks are highly nocturnal, and during the daytime seek shade to rest throughout the hottest parts of the day to help avoid the loss of valuable fluids. Dik-diks are also highly selective when browsing on succulents, herbs, and foliage as to maximize fluid acquisition. The hind legs of Kirk's dik-diks are longer and are structurally more uniform, than the fore legs. Hopwood 1936 suggests this helps the hind legs propel the dik-dik forward, as the relatively short fore legs of dik-diks are more efficient at ascending broken terrain.

"Kirk's dik-dik are endemic to savannah areas of eastern and southwestern Africa, occurring primarily in the Somali and Southwest arid biotic zones, but encroaching into the Southern savannah biotic zone". Their distribution can be described as discontinuous and as a result they often occur in dispersed patches due to their unique habitat requirements. In Namibia, Kirk's dik-dik occur in isolated areas along the Fish River and do not reside in the Namib desert, though they may traverse desert thickets along sources of water. They prefer habitats with good cover but lacking tall vegetation. Ideal habitats contain a variety of browse, extensive shade, and an open understory at their eye level. (Tinley, 1969) As a result, they move to different ranges when grass grows too high and obstructs their view. As noted by Tinley (1969), typical habitats of Kirk's dik-dik consist of thicket mosaics characterized by well-developed shrub layers and scant short grass cover. Dik-diks live in pairs on territories of 2–86 acres, depending on cover and resources. If no unfavorable events occur a pair of Kirk's dik-dik may reside within the same territory for life. Males are the main defenders of territories, as females are unable to maintain territories themselves.[4] (Kingdon 1982) According to MacDonald (1985), territorial conflicts over quality habitat are not frequent, however, when do they occur, males charge one another, stopping just short of physical contact, before repeating the process by running from a longer distance. Furthermore, the encounter ends when one male surrenders, which results in both males scratching at the ground, urinating, and defecating".

Kirk's dik-dik (Madoqua kirkii) Masai Mara and Samburu Kenya

Harar Dik Dik (Madoqua hararensis) is found in Ethiopia and Somalia. Habitat is dry land with barren scrub and areas with acacia trees and dense underbrush; also in mountainous slopes covered with scrub.

Its coat is thick, it's back is a gray colour and the flanks are a brown gray and reddish colour . The legs, the forehead and the nose are of reddish brown colour; they have a white ring around the eyes.

They live alone, in pairs or small family groups. The pairs live in a fixed territory and remain together all the life. They are territorial animals, they also mark their territory excrements and their pre orbital glands.

It has a single young after a period of gestation of about 170 days with an approximated weight of about 700 grams.

Harar Dik Dik (Madoqua hararensis) - Awash Ethiopia

Günther's dik-dik (Madoqua guentheri) is a small antelope found in arid zones of East Africa. Since very little literature is available for this species, I will provide the information on Gunther’s below:

Günther's dik-dik is one of the smallest ungulates in Africa, weighing 3–5 kilograms (6.6–11.0 lb) when fully grown. It has a yellowish-gray to reddish-brown coat, black hooves, small heads with long necks and large ears with white insides. Belly, chin, breast, throat and inner thighs are cream or white. The tail is short (~3–5 cm). Males are horned, with horn length (~9.8 cm) varying between individuals. Although the horn cores are only present in males, gender identification can be difficult from a distance. Females are larger and lack horns.

Four subspecies have been proposed based on size and pelage features, but have not yet been analyzed genetically.

The species is found in the lowlands of Ethiopia, most of the northern and eastern regions of Kenya, Somalia excluding specific regions of the coast, limited regions of southeastern Sudan, and northeastern Uganda. They avoid coastal regions. Typical habitat includes low thicket-type vegetation in thornbush, savanna grassland and riverine woodland biomes, and extends to disturbed and overgrazed areas. Habitat overlaps with other small antelope species such as Kirk's dik-dik.

Günther's dik-dik is a browser rather than a grazer, feeding mainly on the leaves, flowers, stems, fruits and seeds of non-grasses. The species feeds on plants close to the ground, due to its small stature. It is primarily diurnal, with activity peaks from dawn until mid-morning and mid-afternoon until after dark. The species is monogamous; parents and calves do not form family groups for prolonged periods, and the calf is driven out at an early age to fend for itself. Only a single calf is born at a time. The species does not breed seasonally and can have late gestation periods.

While it has a limited vocal repertoire, the species has been shown to make use of the alarm calls of other species, for example responding with increased vigilance or flight behaviour to the alarm calls of the white-bellied go-away-bird.

The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, as it appears to be common throughout its range. Total population size is estimated as at least 500,000 individuals. It is hunted for meat, but not commercially. Habituation to human presence may have a negative fitness effect on individuals, but this has not yet been verified.

Guenther’s Dik Dik (Madoqua guentheri) - Nech Sar National Park Ethiopia

Damara Dik-Dik males are smaller and lighter than the females. The two sexes are respectively 386 mm by 5.1 kg and 394 mm by 5.6 kg. Only the rams have horns which can attain a length of 80 mm.

The Damara Dik-Dik browses mainly leaves, but also feeds on herbs, flowers and pods.

Females give birth to one fawn each year during the rainy season. Gestation period is between is 166-172 days.

Pairs bond for life and males are dominant. Males do not help with the rearing of young and cover the female's scent markings with their own in order to maintain the pair bond.

An inhabitant of dense shrub and thicket with closed canopy cover, which provide shade and protection from predators. Rocky areas with little grass are also frequented.

The Damara Dik-Dik is distributed through south western Angola, central and north western Namibia. The dik-dik is a rare and therefore protected species.

Damara Dik Dik (Madoqua damarensis) - Ethosha National Park Namibia

Cavendish’s Dik Dik is a recent split from Kirk’s Dik Dik and is not universally accepted but is present in some published literature. I have separated it here in anticipation of a formal split. Who knows! The map included here is for Kirk’s Dik Dik and the southern portion of the East African distribution is the range for this potentially new species.

Cavendish’s Dik Dik (Madoqua cavendishi) - Masai Mara Kenya