984 



absence of antlers, the skull is characterized by the presence of tusks, which in the 

 males may be as much as three inches in length, and project considerably below the 

 mouth. All the limbs are of considerable length, and the hinder pair are longer 

 than the front ones; the hoofs are narrow and pointed, and the lateral pair un- 

 usually large. The ears are very large and the tail is short, terminating in the 

 male in a tuft, but hairy throughout in the female. The male has a peculiar sac- 

 like gland in the skin of the abdomen, which yields the musk of commerce. The 

 general color of the fur is a rich dark brown, more or less speckled and mottled 

 with gray and tawny; the individual hairs having black tips, beneath which is a 



MAI,E AND FEMAI.E MUSK DEER. 

 (One-twelfth natural size.) 



ring of white, while for three-quarters of their length they are white at the base. 

 The chin, the inner borders of the ears and the inside of the thighs, and not un- 

 frequently a spot on each side of the throat, are whitish, while the under parts and 

 the inner surfaces of the limbs are paler than the body. Some individuals are, 

 however, considerably paler than ordinary, while in others there is a more or 

 less marked yellowish tint; and others, again, are blacker. The young are spotted. 



Distribution A . The mUsk deer is found throu g h out the Himalayas as far west as 



Gilgit, and thence extends through Central Asia into Siberia. In 



Kansu, on the northwest of China, it is replaced by a nearly allied species (M. sif- 



