166 MR. R. LYDEKKER ON A [June 7, 



10. The Icliang Tufted Deer. By R. Lydekker. 



[Received June 3, 1904.] 



(Text-figures 32 & 33.) 



[The complete account of the new species described in this communication 

 ai)pears here, but since the name and preliminary diagnosis were published in the 

 'Abstract,' the species is distinguished by the name being underlined.— Editor.] 



Tlie genus Elaphochis lias been hitherto known by two species — 

 the typical E. ceyludoplms and the perfectly distinct E. onichianus, 

 from the Ningpo district, province of Chekiang, on the east 

 coast of China. I am now able to add a third. A few days ago 

 Mr. A. E. Leatham called at the Natuiul History IVIuseum, 

 bringing with him for determination the skull and skin of a 

 young male Tvifted Deer (Elaphodus), shot by himself last January 

 in the mountains near Ichang, province of Hupei, Central China. 

 Ichang, it may be mentioned, is fully a thousand miles fi'om 

 Ningpo ; and the deer killed by Mr. Leatham was shot high up in 

 the mountains far away fi'om water, whei'eas E. michianus is 

 I'eported to inhabit the reed-brakes on the Ningpo rivers. On 

 looking through the specimens in the British (Natural Histoi'y) 

 Musevim, I found an adult m;ile skin and slcull of an Elaphoclus 

 from Ichang, collected by Mr. F. W. Styan in 1901 (B.M. 

 No. 1.3.2.17). 



Externally, Mr. Leatham's specimen of the Ichang Tufted 

 Deer differs from E. michianus by its decidedly darker and moi'e 

 x\niform colour, which is blackish bi'own, passing almost into 

 black on the limbs, while there is more white on the tail, of 

 which only the basal two-thirds of the upper siu'face is dark, so 

 that the whole of the tip is white. 



The skin of the adult male sent by Mr. Styaii is browner, 

 except down the middle of the back, but exhibits the same 

 uniformity in genei'al colour. How different these skins really 

 are in colour from that of E. onichianus, it is not easy to deter- 

 mine, seeing that the specimens of the latter in the Museum are 

 more or less faded by exposiu'e. 



On compaiing the skull of Mr. Leatham's specimen, which 

 is immature and retains the milk-molaivs, with a skull of a male 

 E. michianus of neaily the same age, I find that the nasal bones 

 are absolutely and piopoitionately shoiter in the former, their 

 length being 1^ inch against 21 inches. Moreover, their length 

 is contained 3^ times in the basicranial length, instead of less 

 than 3 times. Another distinction is to be found in the form of 

 the anterior upper milk-molar, which is much shorter (antero- 

 postei'iorly) in the Ichang than in the Ningpo skull ; and there 

 also a,ppear to be slight difi'erences in the form of the upper 

 molars. 



Both skulls, it may be observed, show no trace of the pedicles 

 of the antlers, which must accoi'dingly be veiy late in development. 



Equally notewoi'thy dilfei'ences are presented when the adult 



