Robert Swinhoe, Letter to the secretary, Dated Tamsuy 9 Feb 1864

Swinhoe, Robert. “Letter to the secretary,” Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (1864): 168-169. [Dated Tamsuy 9 Feb 1864; read before the society 26 April 1864]

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[16 May 2021 updated]

(A List of Taiwan-related Works by Robert Swinhoe is available here.)

 

The Secretary read the following extracts from a letter addressed to him by Mr. R. Swinhoe, F.Z.S., dated Formosa, February 9th, 1864 :—

“As I passed through Amoy, I was so fortunate as to secure for the Society a pair of Dampier Straits Pigs (wild species), a Sumatran Jungle-Cock (Gallus furcatus), and a Mantchurian Deer, apparently of a new species, intermediate between Cervus sika of Japan and the Cervus taivanus. It was procured at Newchwang. These four animals I transmit to Hong Kong for transmission to England, and I hope they may eventually reach the Society all safe. At Hong Kong I saw a pair of the large Summer-Palace Deer, heads of which were exhibited to the Society by Mr. Leadbeater, and which Dr. J. E. Gray pronounced to be identical with Cervus elaphus of Europe. The pair in Hong Kong were two years old, and an inspection of them convinced me, from their similarity to the older and larger

[p. 169]

specimens procured by Col. Sarel in the Summer Palace Grounds, that the large form is quite distinct from the small one, which last Dr. Gray identified as the C. pseudaxis of certain French authors. At the time I fully believed that the smaller one with indistinct spots was merely the miniature of the larger animal. I now agree with Dr. Gray in considering it distinct, but cannot believe that it is to be referred to the C. pseudaxis. C. pseudaxis is from the Malayan archipelago, whence I have frequently heard of spotted Axis-like Deer.

“The three skins of two bucks and one doe that I sent home are now in the British Museum, and the oldest buck has been figured in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Society for 1861. I should think C. hortulorum would be an appropriate name. In the gardens of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson, and Co. in Hong Kong I saw several bucks and does of C. sika and C. taivanus, as also of C. axis in winter dress. The bucks of the two former had manes about the neck; C. sika was spotless, C. taivanus with indistinct spots, while C. axis was of a rich yellowish-brown colour, with distinct white spots. The latter had long, thin, reddish tails, and, I think, are identical with the true C. axis. They are from Hankow, interior China. The bucks of C. sika, otherwise similar, differed a good deal in size; they were, I believe, from different islands of Japan, the smaller from Nippon, the larger from Yesso.

“The Deer from China may therefore thus be enumerated, as follows:—

“Cervus dama, L. In gardens at Canton.

“C. axis, L. From Hankow, Central China.

“C. elaphus, L. Summer Palace Gardens.

“C. wallichii. Tartary, beyond the Great Wall (horns seen by me at Peking).

“C. swinhoii, Sclater. Island of Formosa.

“C. hortulorum, Swinhoe (“C. pseudaxis?”, Gray). Gardens of Summer Palace.

“C. taivanus, Blyth. Island of Formosa.

“C. sika. Island of Japan.

“C. mantchuricus. Mantchuria. Size larger than C. taivanus, with horns short in the stem, and more resembling those of C. sika. Colouring very similar (in winter coat) to that of C. taivanus. Red patch on occiput, on each shoulder, and on side of neck. Black line down back somewhat indistinct; mane from side and back of neck rather long, thick, shaggy, and dark-coloured. Belly pale reddish white. Thighs light reddish brown.”