Ultrastructural observations on the female reproductive organs of the Savi's pipistrelle, Pipistrellus savii velox (spring samples) and Endo's pipistrelle, P. endoi (autumn samples) revealed that both the species belong to the‘prolonged sperm storage’ type which is accompanied with prolonged survival of the Graafian follicle, and that the principal site of sperm storage was the uterotubal junction in P. s. velox and the isthmus in P. endoi. Uterine spermatozoa seemed to be dead judging from their degenerating appearance in the former species, and were disintegrating beyond recognition even soon after copulation in the latter. In this context, a comparison of the uterine environments for spermatozoa among three Pipistrellus species including the Japanese house bat, P. abramus, in which uterine spermatozoa oriented towards epithelial cells are capable of living (Uchida & Mori, 1987), demonstrated that the life or death of uterine spermatozoa would be closely related to the nature and amount of secretory granules in the epithelial cells and the quantity of glycocalyx covering epithelial microvilli. The device to protect against polyspermy in P. s. velox appeared to be the zona block.

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Karyological studies of two Japanese Eothenomys species, E. smithii and E. kageus, were carried out using conventional, G- and C-band stainings. Their G- and C-banded karyotypes (2n=56, FN=60) were essentially indentical with each other in band patterns, except for a difference in size of the totally heterochromatic Y chromosomes, which is attributable to quantitative alteration of constitutive hetero-chromatin. Considering the karyotypes of both species and the doubtful taxonomic validity of E. kageus, it is reasonable to construe the above difference in the Y chromosome as a variation or a polymorphism within E. smithii. A pair matching of G-banded karyotypes between Eothenomys smithii and Clethrionomys glareolus (2n= 56, FN= 56) showed no detectable difference in band patterns, with the exception of two pairs of autosomes (nos. 1 and 2) and the X chromosome (ST-elements in Eothenomys and A-elements in Clethrionomys for all elements concerned) . Furthermore, the difference in shape and size was noticed in entirely heterochromatic Y chromosomes. Therefore, taking the phylogenetic, relationship based on morphological characters between both genera into consideration, it is suggested that the karyotype of E. smithii has differentiated from Clethrionomys-like one by pericentric inversions and addition of heterochromatin.

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Behavior patterns and acoustic repertoire of captive white-lipped deer, Cervus albirostris, were investigated outside and during the rut at two deer farms in China. A snapping sound made by the deer's legs while moving was recorded. Young animals (1-2 years old) were frequently suckled by hinds. Hind grunts and young bleats produced before suckling contacts were tape-recorded. Three aggressive patterns between hinds were observed. Stags performed wallowing in a similar manner to other cervids during the rut. Hinds also wallowed. Three marking patterns were described. The head down posture was the most common aggressive threat in stags, but they never displayed any form of the head up threat. Roars were the loudest and most conspicuous calls in stags during the rut and were analyzed spectrographically. Some courtship patterns were similar to those for other cervids. The social organization was discussed in relation to its behavior. The mating system was thought to be a harem type based on its behavioral characteristics.

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To evaluate population characteristics of the Japanese serow, we collected a sample which included horns, skulls and pelvic bones from 124 serow that had died from natural causes between 1983 and 1986 in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. All the serow were aged and sexed. The mortality rate was higher from April through September. Major causes of death included dogs, diseases, drownings, and traffic accidents. The adult sex ratio showed a disparity in favor of males. A time-specific life table was constructed. Maximum longevities for male and female serow were 20 and 21 years, respectively. Lamb mortality rate for females was higher (36.5%) than that for males (15.3%) . Adult mortality rates were relatively low, averaging 17.7% for males and 14.8% for females. Life expectancies at birth were 5.3 years for males and 4.8 years for females, respectively. All population characteristics obtained in this study were similar to those of the Gifu-Nagano population. There were no differences in the survival curve pattern between males and females.

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An outbreak of Parapoxvirus infection was observed in 40-59 % of 461 Japanese serows (Capricornis crispus) culled in Gifu Prefecture in the winter of 1984-1985. The infection probably began as early as fall when the serow population was high in nutrition. Lesions were observed in animals of various ages and sexes, irrespective of nutritional conditions (RKFI values) . Since animals with symptoms of heavy infection were rare and animals gradually recovered from the disease through the winter, this viral infection had little affect on mortality in the serow population.

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