MOSCHID.K. 



MOSOHID.E. 



n*w. Dr. On; lUted Uiat he was unable to identify with any of the 

 four speciM meotioned by him on this occasion, or to separate from 

 them a* distinct, the Palendoc, figured in Manden's 'Sumatra, 1 or 

 Pygmy Musk of Sumatra, figured in Mr. Griffith's edition of Cuvier's 

 Animal Kingdom,' on which Fischer has established his Motickui 

 Qriftkii. The il. pygwunu of Linnaeus, in Dr. Gray's opinion, belongs 

 to the genus Antilof* : the hinder part of the tarsus being covered 

 with hair, and the false hoofs very small and rudimentary, and 

 entirely hidden under the hair of the feet He thinks that the Jf. 

 Amertcatiiu appear* by it* spotted livery to belong to a species of 

 Deer; and that the M. Jrlitatuliu, or Leverian Musk of Shaw, U 

 undoubtedly the fawn of a deer. l)r. Gray further observed that it is 

 curious that Dr. Shaw quote* as a synonym of the last-named species 

 the figure of Seba, on which alone the M. AMtrieanui is founded, 

 while at the same time he enumerates the M. Americaaui as a distinct 

 species. (' ZooL Proc.,' 1836.) 



In the same year Mr. Ogilby, in hU paper on the ' Ruminantia,' read 

 before the Zoological Society, makes the Motchida the third family of 

 that order, with the following character: 



Feet bisulcate ; horns none ; incisor teeth (prunores), above none, 

 beneath eight Two genera. 



1. Motehta. Rhinaria large. Lachrymal sintfses none ; interdigital 

 foosj none ; inguinal follicles none ; teats four. Type M. Moicluferui. 



2. Jxalut (>}. Rhinaria none. Lachrymal sinuses small and distinct; 

 interdigital fos* none; inguinal follicles email; teats two. Type, 

 /. Prubalon. (' Zool. Proc.,' part iv. p. 119.) 



Mr. Ogilby goe* on to state that the genus Ixaliu, founded upon 

 the observation of a single specimen, may eventually prove to belong 

 to a different family : and indeed he observes that it differs little from 

 the true antelopes; but even supposing it to be correctly placed 

 among the Motchida, other forms, Mr. Ogilby remarks, are still 

 wanting to fill up the chasms which evidently exist among the charac- 

 ters of that group. "Two," continues Mr. Ogilby, " are more espe- 

 cially indicated, and our knowledge of the laws of organic combination, 

 and of the constituent parts of other groups, gives us every reason to 

 believe in their actual existence, and to anticipate their discovery." 

 He then proceeds to characterise the genera Jfinnuliit and C'apreoltu, 

 observing that they will probably be found, one in the tropical forests 

 of the Indian Archipelago, and the other on the elevated table-lands of 

 Mexico or South America. 



" It may appear a bold, perhaps a presumptuous undertaking," says 

 Mr. Ogilby, " thus to predict the discovery of species and define the 

 characters of genera, of whose actual existence we have no positive 

 knowledge; but, as already remarked, all the analogies of nature, 

 whether derived from organic combination, or from the constituent 

 members of similar groups, are in favour of the supposition ; and I 

 may observe further, that the recent discovery of the genus Isatu*, 

 if indeed it eventually prove to be a genus, of which I had long pre- 

 viously defined the characters, as I have here done for the presumed 

 genera Hianttlut and Capreolia, strengthens my belief in the actual 

 existence of the** forms, and increases the probability of their future 

 discovery." The family is placed by Mr. Ogilby between the Cervul<e 

 and Caprida. 



The aame author makes Traguliu (type Anlilope pyymtta) the first 

 grans of his family f!ori<t<r. 



The Mntchida do not differ much from the other Ruminants ; the 

 leading differences are given above, and the general osseous structure 

 of the form may be collected from the following cuts : 



Dental Formula : Incison, - ; Canines,-*!!. 1 ; Molars, Id? = 84. 



8 u- 'i 



Teeth of Moichm tlotMfenu. F. Cuvier. 



The canine teeth go for back into the upper jaw, as will be seen from 

 the following figure of one of them. It is not impossible that the 

 co-called canine teeth of Vrtut cullrident may be the canine teeth of 

 an extinct ruminant allied to this family, or that of the Cerrida. 

 [MACHAIIIODCS.] 



fttclrton of JToir 



Canine Tootb of Untthia Motchifri MI. 



Man-hut Moicliiferut, the Musk, or Tibet Muxk. It has somewhat of 

 the form of a Roebuck ; but higher behind than it in at the shoulder, 

 from the upper part of which to the sole of the foot it measures about 

 2 feet 3 inches ; whilst from the top of the haunches to the soles of the 

 hind feet the measurement U about 2 feet inches. Ears long and 

 rather narrow, in the itmde pale-yellow and dark-brown ouUiile. Hair 

 on tlie body suborect, long, each hair marked with short waves from 

 top to bottom, ash-coloured near the base, black or blockish ncnr tln< 

 end, and rusty at the tips. Chin yellow. The colour* vary. Mont of 

 the adults are plain-coloured. In some, and such is the individual 

 figured by Pennant, the fore part of the nock is marked on each side 

 with long white stripes from the head to the chest, the back striped 

 transversely with pale-brown reaching to the sides, which are also 

 dappled with a lighter colour. Hoofs very long and deeply divided, 

 spurious hoofit very long. Toil about an inch long, concealed in the 

 hair. Scrotum rutilum. Penis vix percipiendus. (Pennant) 



Female less than the male, and wants the two tusks. 



Young, spotted. 



The Murk is a mountain animal, timid and shy, and a lover of 

 solitude. Precipices covered with- pines and almost inaccessible crags 

 are its favourite haunts ; and the musk-hunter often perils his life in 

 the dangerous chase ; for when hotly pursued the animal taken refuge 

 frequently in the highest fastnesses, leaving men and dogs with scarcely 



