1892.] MR. p. L. SCLATER ON HEADS OF ANTELOPES. 117 



some of the officers who accompanied the Mission under Sir D. 

 Forsyth sent by the Government of India to Yarkand and Kashgar 

 in 1873; and by Colonel Prejvalski, who found this Deer common 

 around the Lower Tarim and Lobnor in 1876, and noticed it (Pet. 

 Mitth., Erg. Heft, No. 53, p. 9) as Cervus maral. In the ' Mam- 

 malia' of the Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission, 

 p. 92, this animal is mentioned, and a photograph of its horns 

 obtained by Mr. R. Shaw noticed. From the photograph it was 

 surmised that the horns resembled those of C. affinis. 



Several fine heads have since been obtained by Mr. A. O. Hume 

 from Yarkand; of these three are now in the British Museum. All 

 are very similar : they have 5 tines on each horn, as is generally the 

 case in C. cashmirianus and C affinis^ but differ greatly from the last 

 named in the curve of the beam, and somewhat from C. cashmirianus, 

 to which, however, they appear very closely allied. At the same time 

 the horns of the Tarim Stag appear always distinguishable as 

 spreading less and by the terminal tine never being curved inwards to 

 anything like the extent that it is in C. cashmirianus. There is 

 very little resemblance to C. maral, in which the crown appears to 

 consist of more than two tines. 



G. maral, C. cashmirianus, and some other Deer may be ultimately 

 classed as subspecies of C. elaphus. The Yarkand Stag is apparently 

 another subspecies, distinguished by its unusually straight horns. As 

 a distinctive name is useful for these races, each of which appears to 

 occupy a small isolated area, the name C. yarkandensis may be 

 applied to the Yarkand and Tarim Deer as a subspecific name, it 

 being understood that the form is not regarded as specifically distinct 

 from C. cashmirianus. 



The skin of the body is unusually pale in colour, with a well 

 marked caudal disk. 



Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on some " Spinning or 

 Japanese Mice," as a particoloured breed of Mus musculus or one of 

 its allies, now commonly kept in captivity, is usually called. The 

 curious habit of spinning round and round after their tails like a 

 kitten was highly developed in this breed and continually exercised. 

 It was very difficult to imagine a reason hov/ this habit originated, 

 and why it was so readily inherited. 



Mr. Sclater exhibited a series of mounted heads of Antelopes 

 belonging to Capt. H. G. C. Swayne, R.E., and made the following 

 remarks : — 



My communication upon Capt. Swayne's Antelopes to the last 

 meeting having been rather hurried owing to stress of time, I thought 

 it might interest the Society to examine Capt. Swayne's private col- 

 lection of heads, which have been beautifully mounted for him by 

 Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co. of Piccadilly, and kindly sent here for 

 exhibition. 



