On the identity of Cervus nigricans Brooke, 1877, with remarks upon other deer from the Philippines

A great number of papers deal with the deer of the Philippine Islands but in spite of this fact the taxonomy and the nomenclature are still not clear. The first author who recapitulated all known facts about the Philippine deer was Brooke (1877), who also described a new species, Cervus nigricans. The description is exact, with figures of the habitus and the skull of the indicated holotype (♀), and in my opinion Haltenorth (1963) had no reason to consider C. nigricans a nomen nudum. The validity of the name Cervus nigricans is in full agreement with the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, adopted by the XVth International Congress of Zoology. Cervus nigricans is rather rare in the collections of museums and, therefore, I am much obliged to Dr. A. M. Husson for allowing me to examine the material of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden. The material of this museum was mentioned already in Brooke's paper (1877:59) and is therefore most valuable for a study of this species, apart from the type material, of course. At the present time the following material of this species is available in the Leiden Museum: No. 19605 ♂ — mounted specimen and skull from Manila, Philippines. Presented by M. van der Haas. No. 19610 ♂ — skull from Manila. Purchased 15 June 1894 from the collection of C. L. Reuvens, who obtained this skull from P. K. A. Meerkamp van Embden (Husson, in litt., 8.9.1967). No. 19611 ♂ — mounted specimen from the Marianas. Skull not taken out. No. 19612 ♂ — very young mounted specimen from Manila, Philippines. The specific validity or identity of Cervus mariannus Desmarest, 1820 and