Phillips's dik-dik was recorded around Berbera in northern Somaliland. Nineteenth-century accounts describe a grey back, reddish-brown flanks, and animals springing away through bushes.
Thomas's original account and the later species entry describe a finely grizzled grey back, with bright rufous shoulders, flanks, and limbs. This is a historical description of the specimens and region observed.
Nineteenth-century accounts describe it as abundant on the maritime plain of Berbera and record the animals springing away through bushes in small bounds.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.