Moschus moschiferus, Linnaeus, 1758
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5720521 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5720529 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03C6E250-FFB8-F05E-FFC0-FE63137BF728 |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Moschus moschiferus |
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1. View On
Siberian Musk-deer
Moschus moschiferus View in CoL
French: Porte-musc de Sibérie / German: Sibirien-Moschustier / Spanish: Ciervo almizclero siberiano
Taxonomy. Moschus moschiferus Linnaeus, 1758 View in CoL ,
Tatary towards China = Altai Mountains.
Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
M. m. sachalinensis Flerov, 1929 — Sakhalin. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 65-90 cm, tail 4-6 cm, shoulder height 56-61 cm; weight 7-17 kg. Skull length in the Siberian subspeciesis c¢. 14:5-15. 8 cm; in the other two subspecies rather smaller, 14-15 cm. The pelage is softer,less quilly, than in other species. Individual hairs on the upperparts are dark with a white subterminal band and/ortip, producing an overall color of dark grayish, usually with whitish spots where the white tips cluster together. Underside paler, grayish-brown. Neck brownish, head more grayish, and may be either paler or darker than body. Ears dark brown or black, paler at base. A pair of narrow creamy or white stripes (made up of white-tipped hairs) from chin down neck to chest. The pale spots are variably visible, but always prominent in young. In the skull, the snoutis long but does not form as much as half of the total skull length; the lacrimal bone is shorter than it is high; braincase is elongated; the orbits tubular. Diploid chromosome number is 58; some animals have dot-sized satellite chromosomes situated in the upper part of the fourth pair of autosomes. Deciduous canines in both sexes are replaced by permanent canines, prominent only in males, at six months. The limbs are more elongated than in most other species; the metatarsal is about 111% of the skull length, the metacarpal 84%. Relatively, however, the hindlimbs are greatly elongated compared to the forelimbs, the metatarsal length (always more than 167 mm) being around 132% of the metacarpal (whose length is always more than 126 mm), and the forelimbs as a whole are 25-30% shorter than the hindlimbs. The metapodials are also very slender, the width of the distal head of the metacarpal being less than 14-5% ofits length, that of the metatarsal less than 12-5% of its length. Russian authors have reported that the musk of the Siberian Musk-deer contains no muscone, which on the face of it would seem to make it much less valuable for perfumes and for medicinal uses. The differences between the subspecies are in size and coloration. Subspecies parvipes and sachalinensis are considerably smaller and darker on average than is moschiferus , and most but not all specimens can be distinguished, though there is a doubt whether most parvipes and sachalinensis can really be differentiated from each other.
Habitat. Siberian Musk-deer live in mountain taiga; in the Altai and Sayan ranges, they are found between 300 m and 1600 m, and farther north, in Yakutia and north-eastern Russia, they live in rhododendron shrub, in light coniferous forest, and in floodland poplar-willow forests. In the northernmost part of the range, Wolverines (Gulo gulo), Eurasian Lynxes (Lynx lynx), Gray Wolves (Canis lupus), and foxes (Vulpes spp.) are the main predators, in that order; in Yakutia, the Yellow-throated Marten (Mantesflavigula) tends to be the most important. They are heavily infested with ectoparasites, including mites and fleas, and in the Far East, 100% are infested with larvae of Cordylobia inexspectata (Calliphoridae) , a fly related to blowflies, a single individual musk-deer having as many as 2000 larvae.
Food and Feeding. In the northern part of the range, Siberian Musk-deer feed on lichens all year round, these forming 60-91% of the weight of stomach contents; in winter, they also eat sprigs of small bushes, conifer needles, moss, dry grass, and rhododendron leaves; in spring and summer, they eat vascular plants.
Breeding. Body mass is lowest in June and at its maximum in autumn, when rutting begins. Testis volumeis at its maximum in the early rut (November-December), and the musk gland is at its maximum in November. The full rut takes place in December—January, less frequently February-March. Three-quarters of the females breed every year, the rest only once in two or three years or less. The pre-copulation phase, as judged by the male’s reaction to female urine marks, lasts 15-18 days; the true mating period lasts only 52-64 hours, and the phase of estrus when copulation occurs lastsjust 12-24 hours. Gestation is 182-194 days, with a mean of 187. During courtship, a male first leaves musk marks on the female’s home range, then gradually approaches, then pursues her. Before copulation, the male smells the female’s genitals and occasionally makes the flehmen gesture (corners of the mouth open, pulling back the midline of the upper lip to permit passage of olfactory molecules into the vomeronasal organ); most females rub the side of the neck of the male with their caudal area and look back. A series of copulations takes place, interspersed with resting or feeding. Most births (70%) occur in the first ten days ofJune. The newborns weigh 460-635 g. Meanlitter size overall is 1:7-1-8; i.e. there is a preponderance of twins. In different regions, the rate of multiple births seems slightly different: in East Sayan, twelve triplet, 50 twin, and 28 singleton births were recorded; in Yakutia,six twin and three singleton births. The sex ratio at birth in twins in the Altai region is 73-82% male; overall, however, sex ratios at birth are equal. Births occur during the day. Neonates stand 16-28 minutes after birth, walk after 28-47 minutes, and suckle after 11-92 minutes. They lie hidden for 12-15 days, and are on their own 80-90% of the time, the mother returning to feed them just once or twice a day for the first month, and after that only once a day. They begin to eat lichen and grass at 15-18 days. Lactation lasts on average four months, occasionally up to six months. The mother—young socialties last till the end of lactation. Juvenile mortality during first three or four months varies from 10-14% in the Far East to 17% in Transbaikalia. Males reach sexual maturity at 10-18 months, females at 8-9 months. Some females remain fertile until 7-12 years of age; in captivity, they remain fertile for longer, up to age 15-17. Mean life expectancy in nature is 5-7 years, which of course reflects the high infant and juvenile mortality, as adults in the wild may live to twelve years.
Activity patterns. They are active, nervous animals; sudden high lookout jumps are made, especially by females. Most activity takes place at dusk and dawn. A musk-deer can travel 3-7 km during night foraging, usually returning to the same lair every morning. An individual’s home range will be between 200 ha and 300 ha in size, and muskdeer observe the boundaries quite strictly. In the second half of winter the extent of the home range is ratherless, and seasonal migrations,if they exist at all, are minimal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Like other musk-deer, males are territorial. Fights between territory owners involve striking with the forelegs and sometimes slashing with the canines. Apparently unlike other musk-deer, they live in pairs with the young of the year, although the female’s home range in and around the territory is not coterminous with the male’s. The territory is maintained by the male, who patrols it, marking the boundaries with caudal gland secretions and feces, and physically chasing away intruders. Sometimes the territory also contains satellite males up to two years old, who assist in maintaining the territory and may take over if the dominant male dies. Young males leave their natal territories in October to April (i.e. during orafter the rut), and young females from April to June before the adult female gives birth. Family groups form “metapopulations” in areas of relatively high population density separated from each other by low-density areas. Solitary individuals form 13-30% of the total. Not all of the home range is defended; the home ranges of males overlap by 3-6% in Altai, and in Far East by up to 15%; those of females, by as much as 17%. In winter, the overlap increases and can be as much as 40-70% of neighboring home ranges. The average population density is around 0-6 ind/km?, but this may increase to up to 4-8-5 ind/km?* when conditions are favorable.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. By the end of the 1990s, populations in Russia were estimated at about 70,000, having been reduced by 50% to 75% since 1989. In 1999 the Sakhalin population was estimated at about 600-650, and declining, the Eastern Siberian population at about 27,000 -30,000, and that in the Russian Far East as perhaps as much as 150,000. Although apparently less endangered than the Chinese species, the Siberian Musk-deer is still in danger of extinction unless stringent measures are taken.
Bibliography. Flerov (1952), MacKinnon (2008), Nyambayar et al. (2008), Prihodko (2003), Sokolov etal. (1987).
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.
