18(3 W. L. Sclater— 0» a Stay allied to Cervas dybowskii. [No. 2, 



VIII. — Description of a Stag's head allied to Corvus dybowskii Tac, pro- 



curedfroin the Barjeeling Bazaar. — By W. L. Sclater, Beputi/ Super- 

 intendent of the Indian Museum, 



[Received a7th Fob.,— Roaa 6th March, 1889.] 

 (Witli Plate XI.) 



Some montlis ago a stag's head was sent to the Musetim by Mr. 

 Dunuo, who wished the head to be mounted to hang up in his hall. 



Mr. Fraser, the 2ud assistant to the Superintendent, on examining 

 the head, at once saw that it was something out of the common, that it 

 was the head of neither Sambur, Tibet deer, or Kashmir deer, and he 

 drew my attention to the fact. 



On my writing to Mr. Dunne he most tindly consented to ex- 

 change the head for one of a Sambur, and further informed me that he 

 had bought the head in the bazaar at Darjeeling, but that, beyond that, 

 he knew nothing about it. 



I sent the head to Simla to Mr. Hume in order that he might 

 compare it with the heads in his own magnificent collection ; Mr. Hume 

 wrote to me telling me that he had nothing like it in his collection, but 

 drew my attention to the description of Gervus dyhowshii of M. Tacza- 

 nowski. published in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1876, 

 and further said that he thought it probable that the specimen in question 

 was either identical with, or nearly allied to, that interesting species. 



I propose first of all to describe the head and afterwards to make 

 some remarks on its afiinities. 



The head which I exhibit this evening, and of which the accom- 

 panying plate gives a good idea, is at once distinguished by the entire 

 absence of the second brow antler which is so characteristic of the 

 Elaphine group of the genus Germis. 



With regard to the skull, the most noticeable feature is the curious 

 expansion of the nasal bones, which spread out over the suboi-bitiil 

 vacuity, causing the vacuity to be much smaller than in either the 

 Sambur or the Tibetan or Kashmir stag ; the suborbital pit too is larger 

 than that of the Kashmir or Tibetan stag {Gervus casJimeerianus and 

 0. afflnts), but is smaller than that of the Sambur (0. aristotelis) ; the 

 other noticeable points in the skull are the form of the auditory bulla 

 and the molar teeth. 



The auditory bulla is distinctly Elaphine ; as in the Tibetan and 

 Cashmir stags, it is small, compressed, and rugged, and not swollen, while 

 the bulla of the Rusine stags is miich swollen and quite smooth. 



The molar teeth have three well marked columns on the external sur- 



