Deers.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



127 



Family MoscMdce. — Linnaeus gave the title 

 Moschus to a group of Ruminants, from the circum- 

 stance of one of the species producing that well- 

 known substance called musk, the secretion of a 

 peculiar glandular pouch in the abdomen of the 

 male, for the sake of which the animal is eagerly 

 hunted in the regions it frequents, namely, the high 

 mountain-ranges in China, Thibet, Tonquin, Pegu, 

 and also Southern Tartary. The musk-deer, how- 

 ever, is the only known species of this group in 

 which this secretion is produced. The Moschidae 

 closely resemble the deer in general form and ap- 

 pearance ; but they resemble them in miniature, for 

 with the exception of the true Musk (M. moschife- 

 rus), which equals a roebuck in size and stature, 

 the rest are extremely small, some not exceeding a 

 hare in magnitude. They are extremely beautiful : 

 the eyes are large, dark, and beaming with a mild 

 and animated expression; the head is small and 

 tapers to a slender muzzle ; the ears are moderate 

 and open ; the haunch elevated and round ; and the 

 limbs delicately slender and tapering to narrow- 

 pointed hoofs. The family characters consist in 

 the absence of horns, and also of suborbital sinuses 

 (pits beneath the inner angle of the eye), so con- 

 spicuous in many of the deer and antelopes^ The 

 muzzle is naked. There are long canines in the 

 upper jaw of the males, projecting downwards, and 

 coming out from between the lips. These canines 

 are compressed, pointed, arched backwards, and 

 have a sharp posterior cutting edge. In the true 

 musk they are at least three inches in length. The 

 crowns of the molars are acutely tuberculated. 

 Fig. 569 represents the teeth of the tipper jaw 

 in two views; Fig. 568, those of the lower; Fig, 

 570, a lateral view of teeth of both jaws together. 

 Besides the two toes united to a single canon-bone, 

 as usual, there are two accessory toes on each foot, 

 each of which has its own slender metatarsal or 

 metarcarpal bone. See Fig. 571, the skeleton of 

 the Moschus moschiferus, and Fig. 572, the skeleton 

 of the Meminna, which are excellent illustrations of 

 their osteology. There are no horns or antlers, nor 

 even their rudiments. 



Mr. Gray divides the MoschidSe into three 

 genera, viz. Moschus, Meminna, and Tragulus. 

 The latter title, however, is applied by Mr. Ogilby 

 to a species of antelope (A. pigmaea). Most au- 

 thors, moreover, adopt the Linnasan genus Moschus, 

 and we shall in this instance follow their example. 

 Setting aside the true Musk, the other members of 

 the genus are termed Chevrotains, and till very re- 

 cent!)' were supposed to be respectively restricted 

 to Java, Sumatra, Ceylon, and perhaps other adja- 

 cent islands : recently, however, to the surprise of 

 naturalists, a species has been discovered in Sierra 

 Leone, to which, from its aquatic habits, Mr. Ogilby 

 has given the title of Moschus aquaticus. (See 

 < Proceeds. Zool. Soc' 1840, p. 35.) 



573, 577. — The Mtjsk-Deer 



{Moschus moschiferus). — The musk-deer, unlike its 

 relatives which tenant the forest of Ceylon and 

 Java, &c, inhabits the great mountain-range which 

 belts the north of India, and branches out into Si- 

 beria, Thibet, and China, through a vast extent of 

 which it ranges, preferring the bold precipitous crags 

 and wild rocks on the borders of the line of snow to 

 the valleys or the lower elevations. It is common 

 to Nepal, Boutan, Thibet, and the adjacent districts 

 of China. It also abounds in the Altaic range near 

 Lake Baikal, where it was observed by Pallas on the 

 mountains of Kouznetzk, near the lake Telet Koi. 

 The texture and thickness of the fur of the musk- 

 deer sufficiently demonstrate the animal to be the 

 native of a cold and elevated region. The fur is not 

 only full and long, but presents that peculiar harsh 

 or rigid and inelastic texture, which we observe in 

 the chamois, or rather in the Klip-springer of the 

 mountains of South-Africa. Instead of lying flat on 

 the skin, it grows erect, and is so closely set as to 

 form a dense substantial covering. Common as is 

 the musk-deer in the great alpine ranges of Asia, 

 nevertheless it does not appear to have been known 

 to the ancients, a circumstance doubtless to be attri- 

 buted to the almost inaccessible nature of the regions 

 it frequents. Neither Aristotle nor Pliny mentions 

 either the animal or its celebrated produce. It is 

 from the male only that the drug and perfume 

 termed musk is procured ; it is the unctuous secre- 

 tion of a certain glandular pouch, and w : hen dry it 

 becomes dark brown or black, and somewhat granu- 

 lar. Its peculiar odour is well known. Formerly it 

 was in high repute for its medicinal qualities, and 

 still holds a place as an antispasmodic in the Materia 

 Medica. It was first, as we learn, introduced into 

 the practice of medicine among the Arabians, by 

 whose writers the animal producing it is first, dis- 

 tinctly mentioned ; having, as Daubenton states, 

 been described by Serapion in the eighth century : 

 but we know not the time when this article first 

 found its way to Europe ; probably after the early 

 Crusades. In Boutan, Tonquin, Thibet, &c, it ap- 



pears from time immemorial to have been used as a 

 medicine and perfume, and to have formed an arti- 

 cle of trade amongst the inhabitants of those coun- 

 tries. Abusseid Serafi describes the musk-deer as 

 an animal resembling the roe, but erroneously as- 

 signs to it horns, in which error he is followed by 

 Aldrovandus. Among other Arabian writers who 

 notice this animal is Avicenna, who refers to its 

 musk-pouch and large bent canines, Kircher ('La 

 Chine illustree,' Transl. Franc, 1610) gives an ac- 

 count of the musk-deer which is found in the pro- 

 vinces of Xensi and Chiamsi : he quotes several de- 

 tails respecting it from the Chinese Atlas, whence 

 we learn that the Chinese term it Xe, which means 

 odour ; that its flesh is accounted delicate ; and that 

 it abounds in the provinces of Suchuen and Junnan. 

 In some districts the musk deer is very common, 

 and multitudes are slaughtered for the sake of their 

 costly perfume ; Avhich, however, is always greatly 

 adulterated. To the practice of adulterating it the 

 celebrated merchant-travellerTavernier alludes, add- 

 ing that the odour of the substance when recent is 

 so powerful as to cause the blood to gush from the 

 nose. Chardin says, " It is commonly believed that 

 when the musk-sac is cut from the animal, so power- 

 ful is the odour it exhales, that the hunter is obliged 

 to have the mouth and nose stopped with folds of 

 linen, and that often, in spite of this precaution, the 

 pungency of the odour is such as to produce so vio- 

 lent an haemorrhage as to end in death. I have," 

 he adds, " gained accurate information respecting 

 •this circumstance ; and as I have heard the same 

 thing talked of by some Armenians who had been to 

 Boutan, I think that it is true. The odour is so 

 powerful in the East Indies that I could never sup- 

 port it ; and when I trafficked for musk, I always 

 kept in the open air, with a handkerchief over my 

 face, and at a distance from those who handled the 

 sacs, referring them to my broker ; and hence I knew 

 by experience that this musk is very apt to give 

 headaches, and is altogether insupportable when 

 quite recent. I add, that no drug is so easily adul- 

 terated, or more apt to be so." 



These accounts must be taken, we suspect, with 

 some allowance. Certain it is that, when procured 

 in Europe in the ordinary way of commerce, it pro- 

 duces no such violent effects. It must be confessed, 

 however, that before arriving in Europe, not. only 

 much of its strength is lost, but it has undergone 

 several adulterations. 



Tavernier states that the musk-deer is very nu- 

 merous in the sixtieth degree, among the wooded 

 mountains, whence in February and March, when 

 the snows have deeply covered the earth,' hunger 

 drives them southward into the lower lands, to the 

 forty-fourth or forty-fifth degree, in search of herb- 

 age. At this season the peasants wait for them on 

 their passages, and catch, them in snares or kill 

 them with clubs and arrows. At Patana he bought 

 on one occasion 1673 musk-bags, weighing 2557i 

 ounces, and of pure musk 452 ounces. 



In size the musk-deer is about equal to our Eu- 

 ropean roebuck, standing two feet in height at the 

 shoulders ; the forehead is arched, the eyes large, 

 the ears rather ample, and very moveable ; the tail 

 is a mere rudiment, concealed by the long, harsh, 

 and almost spine-like hair with which the animal 

 is universally covered. The general contour is 

 compact, and displays great vigour, the limbs being 

 robust, and well adapted for climbing and leaping 

 among the rocks of the mountain ranges. The 

 hoofs are strong, broad, and expanded ; and the 

 posterior rudimentary hoofs are so developed as 

 to touch with their points the surface on which the 

 animal treads, so as to add to the security of its 

 footing. 



The general colour of the musk-deer is brown, 

 washed with grey and pale yellow, each hair being 

 tipped with ferruginous ; obscure grey or whitish 

 marks often occur on the sides, especially in imma- 

 ture individuals; the shoulders and limbs are of a 

 deeper tint than the body. The female is less than 

 the male, and is destitute of tusks or long canine 

 teeth, and of a musk-sac. The teats are two in 

 number. In its manners the musk-deer resembles 

 the chamois : its favourite haunts are the pine- 

 forests on the mountains, and its agility is very 

 great, enabling it to spring from rock to rock with 

 great ease and address. It is extremely wild and 

 shy, and is said to be cautious and watchful against 

 surprise, taking refuge, when pursued, among the 

 crags and precipices of the more elevated peaks of 

 the ranges it tenants; yet, in despite of all its 

 vigour and shyness, it. falls a sacrifice to the energy 

 and the contrivances of man. 



In 1772 a male of this species was living in the 

 park of Mons. de la Vrilliere, at Versailles, in 

 France ; and Daubenton, who published a descrip- 

 tion of it, informs us that the odour it exhaled, and 

 which was carried with the wind, was quite suffi- 

 cient to guide to the spot where the animal was 

 kept enclosed. "When I first saw it," he adds, 

 " I recognised much resemblance in its figure and 



attitude to those of the roe, the gazelle, and the 

 chevrotain. No animal of this (the deer) tribe has 

 more activity, suppleness, and vivacity in its move- 

 ments." It was extremely timid and wild ; but, 

 like all the species of the peculiar group to which it 

 belongs, it is gentle and inoffensive. The chev- 

 rotains, as we well know may be rendered very 

 tame : and it is probable that if the musk-deer 

 were taken while young, it might be easily domesti- 

 cated, since the former animals are shy and timid 

 in the extreme while in a state of natural freedom, 

 but soon gain confidence, and have even bred in 

 captivity in our uncongenial climate. 



A good figure of the musk-deer is given by Buffon 

 in the 6th vol. of his Supplement. 



574. — The Meminna 



{Moschus Meminna). This elegant little species is 

 a native of Ceylon and Java, and is also found in 

 considerable numbers in the dense woods of the 

 Western Ghauts (but never on the plains), where it 

 was seen by Colonel Sykes, who observes, that it 

 readily reconciles itself to confinement : the flesh 

 is excellent eating. In size it exceeds a large hare, 

 being about one foot five inches long, and eight inches 

 high. Its colour is olive-grey, spotted and streaked 

 on the sides and haunches with white ; the ears are 

 large and open ; the tail is very short. 



575.— The Naptj 



{Moschus Javanicus). The species constituting the 

 little section of which the Napu is a representative, 

 are characterized by having the hinder edge of the 

 metatarsus bald and slightly callous ; the throat is 

 provided with a somewhat naked concave subglan- 

 dular callous disc, from which a band extends to 

 the fore part of the chin ; and most of them have 

 three diverging bands of white on the chest. The 

 animals of this group are distinguished by their 

 beauty and diminutive size, the largest not equal- 

 ling a hare. Their limbs are very slender and deli- 

 cate ; then' hoofs are long and narrow ; the muz- 

 zle is acute ; the eyes large and dark ; the ears 

 pointed. 



The species are enveloped in some degree of 

 confusion ; indeed they resemble each other so 

 closely, that it requires some attention to discrimi- 

 nate between them. Mr. Bennett, who investigated 

 these animals with the greatest care, considered 

 that three species were definable, viz. the Napu, 

 the Kanchil, and the Pelandok ; the t wo former of 

 which are described by Sir T. S. Raffles, in the 

 ' Linn. Trans.' vol. xiii. Mr. Gray considers the Pe- 

 landok to be in all probability identical with a 

 species described by him under the specific title of 

 Rufiventer, and adds another species to ;the group 

 under the designation of Stanleyanus — of this species 

 a pair bred in the gardens of the Zool. Society. 



The napu is a native of Java and Sumatra, and 

 is the largest of this section ; its colour is ferru- 

 ginous brown above and white beneath, the chest 

 having two longitudinal dusky stripes, so as to pro- 

 duce a central and two diverging lateral lines of 

 white, below which passes a transverse band of 

 pale yellowish fawn. The muzzle, which is naked, 

 is black, with a tinge of flesh colour, as are the ears, 

 which are also nearly naked. The tail is rather 

 short and white at the tip. In its native regions 

 the napu gives preference to thickets and districts 

 overgrown with brushwood, near the sea-shore, and 

 feeds principally on the berries of a species of Ar- 

 disia. It is said to be inferior to the kanchil in 

 speed, activity, and cunning, and is therefore more 

 exposed to danger from the assaults of wild beasts, 

 which abound in the forest ; and hence it prefers to 

 lurk in coverts nearer the vicinity of man, from 

 whose observation it can more easily conceal itself 

 than from the watchful eyes of the feline race. 



In its manners the napu is mild and gentle, and 

 soon becomes reconciled to captivity : it bears our 

 climate well, with care ; though destitute of marked 

 intelligence, its graceful form, agreeable colouring, 

 and full dark eyes render it an interesting object. 



576.— The Kanchil 

 {Moschus Kanchil, Raffles). The Kanchil is lighter 

 in form and more spirited than the napu, and con- 

 siderably smaller. Independent of the difference 

 in size, it is easily distinguished by its darker co- 

 lour, by a broad stripe of dark chestnut verging 

 upon blade, which runs down the back of the neck, 

 and by the width of the band across its chest. Of 

 all the chevrotains this is the most active and ele- 

 gant; indeed its address and resolution are the 

 common theme of diseourss in Java, its native 

 country ; and the most extraordinary instances are 

 related of its cunning. Unlike the napu, it resides 

 in the depths of the mighty forests which cover so 

 large a portion of the island, feeding chiefly on the 

 fruit of the Kayo-briang (Gmelina villosa) : and 

 though it will live in confinement, it endures cap- 

 tivity with great impatience and restlessness, 

 availing itself of the first opportunity of escape 



