TAXONOMIC NOTES ON THE CHINESE MUSK-DEER

A critical study is made of the musk-deer collected from the Heilung-Kiang, Kirin, Yunnan, and Szechwan provinces, A total of 57 specimens (skins 57, skulls 48) have been examined with reference to the related literature records. Based on the differences in size, colour, spotting and skeletal characteristics, three distinct species of the Chinese musk-deer may be distinguished, i.e., Moschus moschiferus sibiricus, Moschus sifanicus and Moschus berezovskii. Ecologically, they also differ from each other with respect to habitats, feeding habits as well as geographical distribution.In western Szechwan, although M. sifanicus and M. berezovskii are found to inhabit the same locality, yet the two species differ in the altitudinal range of their distribution (M. sifanicus over 3500m; M. berezovskii 2400-3800m), with no indications whatsoever of any interbreeding.