90 RECORDS OF BIG GAME 



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Skull and Horns of Thamin. From a Burmese specimen. 



THAMIN or ELD'S DEEE (Cervus [Rucervus] eldi). 



Although belonging to the same group as the two preceding 

 species, this deer is readily distinguished by the peculiar form of the 

 antlers. These are rounded and rough, with a long curved brow-tine, 

 forming a continuation of the curve of the beam, which is set at right 

 angles to the pedicle ; the beam unbranched for some distance, much 

 curved, and finally forked, with the outer prong more subdivided than 

 the inner. Height at shoulder about 4 feet 3 inches ; weight from 

 210 Ibs. to 245 Ibs. There are three races of this species. First, the 

 Burmese thamin (C. ddi typicus], ranging from near Manipur through 

 Burma to the Malay Peninsula, in which the antlers are rounded 

 throughout, and the coat is uniformly umber-brown. Secondly, the 

 Manipur thamin (C. eldi cornipes], in which the under-surface of the 

 fetlock is horny instead of hairy. Thirdly, the Siamese thamin (C. 

 eldi platyceros], from Siam and Hainan, in which the tips of the antlers 

 are flattened with a number of small snags, and the coat is redder, with 

 yellowish spots. Swamp-deer from the Central Provinces show a re- 

 markable approximation in the form of their antlers to the present 

 species, as shown in the figure on page 86. 



