86 



RECORDS OF BIG GAME 



Skull and Horns of Thamin. From a Burmese specimen. 



THAMIN or ELD'S DEEE (Cervus eldi). 



Although belonging to the same group as the two preceding 

 species, this deer is readily distinguished by the peculiar form of the 

 antlers. These are rounded and rough, with a long curved brow-tine, 

 forming a continuation of the curve of the beam, which is set at right 

 angles to the pedicle ; the beam unbranched for some distance, much 

 curved, and finally forked, with the outer prong more subdivided than 

 the inner. Height at shoulder about 4 feet 3 inches ; weight from 

 210 Ibs. to 245 Ibs. There are three races of this species. First, the 

 Burmese thamin (C. eldi typicus\ ranging from near Manipur through 

 Burma to the Malay Peninsula, in which the antlers are rounded 

 throughout, and the coat is uniformly umber-brown. Secondly, the 

 Manipur thamin (C. eldi cornipes], in which the under-surface of the 

 fetlock is horny instead of hairy. Thirdly, the Siamese thamin (C. 

 eldi platyceros), from Siam and Hainan, in which the tips of the antlers 

 are flattened with a number of small snags, and the coat is redder, with 

 yellowish spots. Swamp-deer from the Central Provinces show a re- 

 markable approximation in the form of their antlers to the present 

 species. 



