Moschus berezovskii, Flerov, 1929
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5720521 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5720551 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C6E250-FFBE-F059-FACA-F5871E9BFA66 |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Moschus berezovskii |
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7. View On
Forest Musk-deer
Moschus berezovskii View in CoL
French: Porte-musc de forét / German: China-Moschustier / Spanish: Ciervo almizclero de bosque
Taxonomy. Moschus berezovskii Flerov, 1929 View in CoL ,
Ho-tzi-how Pass, near Lungan, Sichuan.
Flerov, when he described this species, regarded it as an enigmatic species of apparently restricted distribution in the alpine zone of Sichuan. It was not until the 1960s that it was shown that this is not in fact an alpine zone species at all, but is a forest animal, widespread in the forested areas of south-eastern China. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
M.b.bijiangensisWang&Li,1993—NWYunnantoSEXizang(ZayuCounty).
M. b. caobangis Dao, 1969 — S Yunnan (Mile County & Nujiang Langcang), Guangxi, Guangdong, and N Vietnam (Cao Bang Province); between 50 m and 400 m. Presence uncertain in N Laos.
M. b. yunguiensis Wang & Ma, 1993 — from the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau margins NE to W Hubei (Yichang). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 70-80 cm, tail 3-4 cm, height at shoulder less than 50 cm; weight 6-9 kg. Skull length is 14-15 cm in the nominotypical subspecies, but only 13.2-14. 5 cm in subspecies bijiangensis and yunguiensis, and only 12:5-13-5 mm in caobangis, the smallest of all musk-deer. Hair bases are short, gray-white; the throat has three wide longitudinal stripes, white to orange in color, the lateral pair running from the jaw angles to the brisket. The central stripe is shorter, and all three may sometimes be broken. The haunch is yellower, but the rump is nearly black; the limbs are dark down the front surface. The underside is yellow. The ears are orange at the base, black at the tip, and white inside. The hair is 73-87 mm long on the withers, 45-68 mm on the rump, varying according to season. The facial skeleton is relatively short; the lachrymalis shorter than itis high. The limbs are relatively short: metacarpal length 73-89 mm, metatarsal 103-120 mm. The metatarsal is 135-139% of the metacarpal, so the hindlimb is relatively longer than in most other taxa. The metapodials are relatively short (the metatarsal only 80-81% of the skull length, the metacarpal only 59%) and robust, the width of the lower head of the metacarpal being more than 18% ofits length, of the metatarsal more than 15-5%. M. b. caobangis is very pale in color, limbs dark only from knee and hocks downward, but buttocks and ear tips are black. Hair shorter, 21-30 mm on withers, 38-47 mm on rump. M. b. byiangensis 1s paler than nominotypical M. b. berezouskii, fulvous-brown, with a grayish-white ventral surface; toothrow averaging slightly shorter. M. b. yunguiensis is somewhat smaller than nominotypical M. b. berezouski.
Habitat. Lives predominantly in forests with mixed coniferous and broadleaved trees, usually below 3500 m, and often almost at sea level. In pure broadleafforest its population density is lower, and in shrub lowerstill; it goes into bamboo forest, but does not go into grassy areas or the “dwarf bush zone.” It is always found on relatively steep slopes, and does not like slopes under 10°. On northern slopes,it is found in forests between 1700 m and 2100 m, whereas on south-facing slopes,its highest density is in woodlands between 2100 m and 2450 m.
Food and Feeding. They feed on twigs, shoots, lichens, moss, grasses, and leaves. Their leaping ability allows them to forage on the lower branches oftrees.
Breeding. Dominant females (dominance is calculated by the frequency of one animal supplanting others) give birth from April 25 to May 25, low-ranking femaleslater, from May 15 to June 25. Birthweight is less than in other musk-deer, ranging from 350-558 g. Twinning is extremely high: 137 twin litters and 59 singletons are recorded. Juvenile mortality is high, about 50%, up to age two, but this differs according to the dominance rank of the mother. The survival rate of the offspring of dominant females is 100%; of females of the second rank, 56%; of the third rank, 43%; and of the fourth rank, 25%. In general, 30% of musk-deer survive to age 6, 20% to age 10%, just 10% to age 15.
Activity patterns. They are most active between dusk and dawn, but alternately rest and feed.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. The social organization, territoriality, etc., of this species are poorly known. The juvenile sex ratio is approximately 1:1, but after that males predominate until old age. The sex ratio in young adults (2-5-9 years) is 1-77:1, and in older adults (9-14-5 years) 2-8:1, whereas in aged individuals (14-5-20 years)itis 1:2. Young adults, at about 6-8 years of age, are the prime breeders. The mean generation length is 6-5-10 years.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Endangered on The [UCN Red List. By the early 1990s a decline from earlier levels was noticeable, and there had almost certainly been local extinctions; it remains relatively numerous only in western Sichuan and north-west Yunnan. Population sizes are very difficult to even estimate in musk-deer, but Prof Sheng Helin, from a lifetime’s experience, suggested that in 1992 there would be about 200,000 in the whole of China, split of course among at least five species, and it is evident that the population continues to decline. In Vietnam, Do Tuoc estimated the population to have been some 200 in the late 1990s, but here too there has been a decline.
Bibliography. Guo Jian et al. (2001), Hu Zhongjun et al. (2007), Wang Yingxiang & Harris (2008), Wang Yingxlang et al. (1993), Wong Yu et al. (2006), Xu Zhenggiang & Xu Hongfa (2002), Yang Qisen, Hu Jinchu & Peng Jitai (1990), Yang Qisen, Meng Xiuxiang et al. (2003),
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
