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Show • 1874.] MR. R. SWINHOE ON A N E W DEER FROM NINGPO. 453 from the Ningpo country. It is a dark iron-grey or pepper-and-salt colour, like some Scotch terriers, with white tips to its ears, square-built (that is, straight back and pointed hip), with very short tail. On its forehead is a thick black mane like the bristles of a boar. The skull has, unfortunately, got smashed-the people say by the struggles of the animal (they caught it alive) ; but I will send you as much of the skin and skeleton as 1 can. It has the lachrymal sinus, but not so large as the Muntjacs; in size the beast about equals the Muntjac. When I say this is a new deer, I only mean it is new to me, though it may be familiar to you." In due course the skin came home, but not a fragment of the skull. I drew Mr. Sclater's attention to the animal; and he said it might possibly be theElaphodus cephalophus lately described byAlphonse Milne- Edwards from specimens sent by Pere David from Moupin. This gentleman, to whom I wrote on the subject, very kindly sent m e a copy of the coloured plate of the female with head of the male, and one of the plates of the male skull intended to illustrate his outcoming work ' Recherches pour servir al'Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes.' In his later letters Mr. Michie informs me that his animal is known to the natives as the " Shanyang," or wild goat, that it was reported to him that the specimen was a female, and that on his describing it to Pere David, who came soon after to Shanghai, the worthy priest said that he had procured the same species in the mountains of the north-west. Mr. Michie sent a photograph of the animal, taken while still fresh. A short description of the Elaphodus cephalophus is given, with the initials A. M.-E., in a note at the foot of Pere David's list of Chinese Mammals, in the 'Nouv. Arch, du Mus.' Bull. p. 93. With this Mr. Michie's animal agrees except as regards horns. David's animal had, according to this note, " cornes d'un pouce de long." Michie's specimen has none ; and the skin shows no sign of any. It agrees in colour with the description, and thus differs notably from the drawing of the female, which is coloured chestnut-red, and has scarcely any of the bristly crest, a very conspicuous character in our specimen. It also lacks the canine teeth ; Michie's skin bears marks of teeth on the lips-though, as the skull is unfortunately away, no teeth are iii place. It has also other indications of the male sex; and for the present I think we may be justified in taking to ourselves the benefit of the doubt, and accept this animal as a new form, for which I would propose the name LOPHOTRAGUS MICHIANUS, nov. gen. et. spec. (Plate LIX.) I cannot, unfortunately, give any cranial characters, not a vestige of the skull, as I have said before, being left within the skin. Coat consisting of coarse thick hair, which gives the animal a very ^oai'-like appearance ; it has no indications of horns ; but a thick tuft of coarse hair springs from the forehead, about 2 inches long, and lies back between base of ears. The lachrymal slit is about -8 inch long ; and the nostrils are confluent with the upper lip. Its chin abounds with long bristly hair ; its hoofs are rather long and blackish. |
