454 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



fetches from 100 to 120 roubles (10 to 12) .... The Maral is becoming 

 exterminated in the Altai .... 



On our return journey we met several caravans [laden with horns on their 

 way to Mongolia and China]. 



An extensive account of Maral raising is given by Nikolskii 

 (1927). This industry originated in middle Asia during the seven- 

 teenth century and was brought there from North China (Amsch- 

 ler, 1931). 



Tian Shan Wapiti 



CBRVUS ELAPHUS SONGARICUS Severtzov 



[Cervus maral] Var. songarica Severtzov, Izviestia Imper. Obshchestvo 

 Liub. Estest., Antrop. Etnogr. [Moscow], vol. 8, pt. 2, p. 109, 1873; Eng- 

 lish translation in Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 4, vol. 18, p. 386, 1876. 

 (The Za-ilisky Alatau, east of Vyernyi, on the summits of Turgeni, near 

 the eastern portion of Issik-kul, and the fir-woods of Shamsi in the 

 Alexandrovsk Mountains; type locality restricted by Harper (1940, 

 p. 203) to the first of these two localities.) 



SYNONYM: Cervus eustephanus Blanford (1875). 



FIGS.: Wallace, 1915, pis. 74, 75. 



The Wapiti of the Tian Shan, like most of the Asiatic deer, has 

 been seriously reduced in numbers by the demand for antlers in 

 the Chinese market. 



The general color of this animal is brownish gray tinged with 

 yellow, the head and neck being darker. It is very similar to the 

 American Wapiti but is "apparently distinguished by the narrower 

 and more orange-coloured rump-patch, not including the middle 

 line of the tail, which is coloured like the back; the larger amount of 

 black on the borders of the rump-patch, thighs, and flanks, the 

 greyer general colour in summer, and the shorter and stouter fourth 

 tine of the antlers." The antlers are said "to be distinguished by 

 their stoutness and the length and massiveness of their tines, as 

 well as by their dark colour." (Lydekker, 1915, vol. 4, p. 136.) The 

 antlers measure 50-60 inches along the curve, and have 14 to 16 

 points or even more (Wallace, 1915, p. 198). Height at shoulder, 

 58-60 inches (Severtzoff, 1876, p. 377) . 



This Wapiti is found more or less throughout the Tian Shan 

 system, extending west on the Russian side to the area between the 

 Chu and the Naryn Rivers, and on the east to the Karlik Tagh 

 beyond Hami. According to Lydekker (1915, vol. 4, p. 136), the 

 range also includes the Tarbagatai district. On the other hand, 

 Wallace states (1915, p. 198) : "The Ala Tau is their northern limit, 

 though a few stragglers may be found in the Barlik Tagh. To the 

 south the Narin River is approximately their boundary, while to 

 the west they extend to the Issi Kul Lake and the Alexandrovsk 

 range." 



