The taxonomic status ofMoschus moschiferus anhuiensis

Since the musk deer distributed in the Dabie Mountains, Anhui was defined asMoschus moschiferus anhuiensis, its status has been disputed based on researches of morphology and ecology. This study further probed into its taxonomic status with principal components analysis (PCA) on skull measurements and mtDNA cytochrome b sequences (367 bp) analysis so as to clear its status. It is concluded that the figure and skull in Anhui musk deer are different from other species, and DNA divergence between it and other species is 6.24%–7.90%, which belongs to inter-specific difference. Thus, the study defines this musk deer as one distinct species,Moschus anhuiensis (Wang, Huet al.)