Moschus chrysogaster Hodgson 1839

Moschus chrysogaster Hodgson 1839, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 8: 203.

Type Locality: "Cis and Trans Hemelayan regions"; "lofty mountains of the interior of Tibet, especially towards the Chinese frontier, where the first and loveliest, or Chrysogaster, is almost exclusively found … I have specimens of all three species [ chrysogaster, leucogaster, saturatus] from Lassa and Digurchee" (Hodgson, 1842, J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, 6:285). (China, Tibetan Plateau) .

Vernacular Names: Alpine Musk Deer.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Moschus chrysogaster subsp. chrysogaster Hodgson 1839

Subspecies Moschus chrysogaster subsp. sifanicus Büchner 1891

Distribution: Bhutan, S and C China (S Gansu, S Ningxia, Qinghai, W Sichuan, S Tibet, and N Yunnan), N India (Sikkim), and Nepal.

Conservation: CITES – Appendix I in Bhutan, India and Nepal; otherwise Appendix II; U.S. ESA – Endangered in Bhutan, China (Yunnan and Tibet), India and Nepal; IUCN – Lower Risk (nt).

Discussion: A well defined species; see Groves (1976) and Gao (1963), under the name sifanicus, which should be included in M. chrysogaster (see Grubb, 1982 a). However, " chrysogaster " of Cai and Feng (1981) is subspecifically or specifically distinct and available name for this taxon may be leucogaster Hodgson, 1839; see Grubb (1982 a).