296 



THE SEROWS, GORALS AND TAKINS OF BRITISH 

 INDIA AND THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. 



By 



R. I. PococK, F.R.S., 

 Superintendent of the Zoological Societj^'s Gardens, London. 

 Pt. II. On the Serows {Ca'pricornis) and Gorals (Ncemorliedus). 

 With 3 coloured and Jf, uncoloured Plates. 



In the February issue of the Journal of this Society for 1910, 

 pp. 807-812, I explained briefly that the Serows, Gorals and 

 Takins, which are confined to Asia, constitute with the Chamois 

 of Europe and the so-called Rocky-Mountain Goat of North 

 America a special but not easily defined group of ruminant ungu- 

 lates known as the Rupicaprinse. 1 also pointed out in greater 

 detail the principal characters, both external and cranial, by which 

 the Gorals, Serows and Takins may be distinguished from each 

 other. It may, however, be useful and save a back reference to 

 my former paper if I recapitulate the chief features by which 

 Gorals (NcBmorhedus) and Serows (Ca'pricornis) may be separated 

 from one another. 



It is a remarkable thing that although Gorals and Serows are 

 very much alike superficially, so much so indeed that they have 

 often been referred to the same genus even by experienced zoolo- 

 gists, they differ nevertheless profoundly in the structure of the 

 skull. The skulls of Gorals approximate those of Takins in several 

 particulars, and suggest a kinship between these two animals which 

 no one would suspect from an examination of living specimens. 

 The skulls of Serows, on the contrary, are very distinct from those 

 of the other genera. Since, however, I am not now concerned 

 with Takins, I will confine my remarks to the main differences 

 between Gorals and Serows. By their cranial characters they may 

 be briefly distinguished as follows : — 



(a) Maxillae in contact with the nasals for a 

 long distance in front of the lacrymal 

 bone ; lacrymals with a large pit like 

 depression ; nasals forming a transverse 

 or slightly arched suture with the fron- 

 tals ; upper rim of orbits not at all 



prominent Capricornis. 



(h) Maxillae separated from nasals by a nar- 

 row fissure and only a very short area 

 of the lacrymal touching the nasals; 



