ORDER ARTIODACTYLA I EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 427 



white spots which become fused to form broken lines on the flanks. 

 A white stripe runs along the edge of the jaw and sides of the neck. 

 The male is slightly darker than the female, and has the upper 

 canines developed as projecting tusks about an inch long. 



Little is recorded of the habits of this peculiar species. It is found 

 along the watercourses in dense forests and, when disturbed, plunges 

 into the water and is gone, to come up under the cover of overhang- 

 ing vines and bushes farther upstream. It is more active by night, 

 and then comes out to feed upon "grass, water weeds, and water- 

 lily roots/' according to Sir Harry Johnston (1906), but Biittikofer, 

 who opened the stomach of one, found nothing but grass. Johnston 

 has published photographs of the peculiar tiptoe-like posture of this 

 Water Chevrotain when standing. According to the natives, it will 

 sometimes climb up on a sloping trunk and lie out there resting. 

 They hunt the animal, the flesh of which they much appreciate, 

 either by means of snares or by driving a small section of bush, 

 and catching the quarry in a long net. Their folklore has many tales 

 of the cunning and intelligence of the creature. 



Although probably in no special danger of extermination at pres- 

 ent, the restricted range in the rain-forest areas of western Africa, 

 the avidity with which it is sought for food and hide, and the fact 

 that it is a modern survivor of an ancient group of primitive hoofed 

 animals, make its preservation a matter of interest. In the London 

 Convention schedule of 1933 it is therefore placed in Class A. Re- 

 ports as to its abundance vary, some observers regarding it as scarce, 

 others elsewhere reporting it fairly common. Probably its secretive 

 habits enhance the belief in its rarity, while in some regions it is 

 doubtless overhunted by natives, who constitute its chief enemy. 



G. M. A. 



Family MOSCHIDAE: Musk Deer 



The Musk Deer constitute a single genus and species, with about 

 half a dozen subspecies, all of which are treated in the following 

 pages. They range from Siberia, Sakhalin, and Korea to the Hima- 

 layan region. 



Siberian Musk Deer 



MOSCHUS MOSCHIFERUS MoscHiFERUs Linnaeus 



Moschus moschijerus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 66, 1758. ("Tataria 

 versus Chinam." Range restricted by Flerov (1929, p. 515) to "mountains 

 of Western and Central Siberia"; further restricted by Harper (1940, 

 p. 202) to "the Russian Altai.") 



SYNONYM: Moschus sibiricus Pallas (1779) (cf. Harper, 1940, p. 202). 



Fia: Pallas, 1779, pi. 4. 



