MEDICAL ZOOLOGY. 



MAMMALIA, 



MOSCHUS (Musk Deer). Order Euraiuantia. Family Moschidse. 



Characters. Placenta cotyledonous. Head without horns. 



Dental formula: mol. 66 ; can. 10 ; incis. 04; incis. 4; can. 10; 

 mol. 66=1420. 



Canines conspicuously developed in male so as to protrude below the 

 level of the lips. Incisors spatuliform, arranged in a continuous series. 

 Stomach with four chambers. Musk sac apparatus present in male. 



M. moschiferus, Avicenna. Head small and short; muzzle pointed, 

 naked, and blackish; nostrils crescentic, very open; lower lip nearly deprived 

 of hair ; ears large ; neck thick and of moderate length ; tail very short, 

 thick, conical, and soft ; with the female and the young it is hairy above 

 and woolly beneath ; while that of the male of the second year is entirely naked 

 and red. The front paws are so short that the distance between the chest 

 and the ground is less than that comprised between the withers and the in- 

 ferior face of the thorax. The relation between the anterior and posterior 

 extremities indicates that the animal is adapted for leaping rather than 

 walking. Hoofs small, compressed, subtriangular, and pointed. Lateral 

 (supplementary) hoofs, elongated, but not' reaching the ground. The thick- 

 set appearance of the musk deer depends in part upon the nature of the fur, 

 which upon the body is very thick, velvety. Fur thick, short, and soft about 

 the head and ears. Upon the belly or each side of the umbilical region 

 longer, becoming more slender, and forming through this part of the trunk 

 a large pendant tuft in front of the thighs. Upon the legs it is short, and 

 especially compact, inferiorly. The general color of animal reddish-brown 

 with admixture of gray and white, the hues varying with age and season. 

 The hair is always white at the base, brown or gray above greater or less 

 distance of the shaft, to again become white toward the tip. This variety 

 of coloring gives a grizzled appearance to the whole body. Upon the claws 

 the hairs become shorter, more compressed, and of a darker color than else- 

 where. (Alphonse Milne Edwards.) 



Measurements. From muzzle to anus, 2' 11" 4'"; length of tail, I" 2'"; 

 length of head, 6" 2'"; length of ear, 3"4f"'; length of neck, 6" 6'"; height 



(137) 



