66 DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF 



FA M I LY C E R VID.E. 



G ENU S CERVULUS. 

 cp:rvulus muntjac. 



Ccn'uhi^ iimiit/ac, Brooke, P.Z.S. 1874, p. 38, 1878, 

 p. 8oq. 



Colour deep chestnut, becomincr darker on the back and 

 paler and duller below. Face and limbs brownish, a black line 

 along the inside of each horn-pedicel and for some distance 

 inside the facial rib ; this line in the female ends above in a 

 slight tuft. Chin and ui^per tbroat, lower abdomen, lower 

 surface of tail and inside of thighs white ; a whitish mark in 

 front of the digits on each foot. Axils whitish. A dark brown 

 variety has been found near Darjiling , by Kinloch, and a still 

 darker form is figured in Hodgson's MS. drawings. Young 

 spotted. 



Dimensions^Height at shoulder 20 to 22 inches ; length 

 of head and body about 35 ; tail, with hair, 7. A male skull 

 measures 7 inches in basal length and 27 in breadth across the 

 orbits. The horns from the burr (pedicel not included) rarely 

 exceed 5 inches in length, and are generally 2 or 3 inches, on 

 pedicels 3 to 4 long, but horns of 1 1 inches are said to have 

 been measured. Weight of a male 38 lb. 



Habits — The rib-faced deer is a solitary animal, usually 

 found singly or in pairs. It keeps in thick jungle, only lea\'ing 

 the forest to graze on the skirts of the woods or in abandoned 

 clearings. It has a wonderful way of getting through the 

 thickest underwood, and it runs in a peculiar manner with its 

 head low and its hiiul quarters high ; when not alarmed, as 

 Colonel Hamilton observes, it steps " daintily and warily, 

 lifting each leg well above the grass or leaves." 



The call of this species, from which the common name of 

 " barking deer " is derived, is at a little distance very like a 

 single bark from a dog, and is very loud for the size of the 

 animal. It is often repeated at intervals, usually in the 

 morniiig and evening, sometimes after dark, and I have heard 

 it in I^Borneo ' very- late in the morning and again in the 

 afternoon, in-Alie cold weather, which is the rutting-season. 

 It is uttered by the animal when alarmed, as well as when 

 calling its mate. 



I obtained a very dark coloured specimen ot this deer on 

 Mount Dulit, at 3,000 feet. Dyak name, ' Kijang.' 



Hab. Baram River (C. Hose). Niah (C. Hose). Mount 

 Dulit, 3,000-ft. 



