The taxonomic status of Moschus moschiferus anhuiensis

Since the musk deer distributed in the Dabie Mountains, Anhui was defined a s Moschus moschiferus anhuiensis, its status has been disputed based on res earches of morphology and ecology. This study further probed into its taxon omic status with principal components analysis (PCA) on skull measurements and mtDNA cytochrome b sequences (367 bp) analysis so as to clear its statu s. It is concluded that the figure and skull in Anhui musk deer are differe nt 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 def ines this musk deer as one distinct species, Moschus anhuiensis (Wang, Hu e t al.).