THE PRONGHORN 307 



between those of the Deer and those of the Antelopes. They are 

 unquestionably " hollow-horned " Ruminants, in that there is an 

 osseous horn core, upon which lies the actual horn. This, how- 

 ever, is softer than in Bovidae, and is seniicorneous. It is, indeed, 

 more like the velvet of the stag's horn. Moreover the horn is 

 branched, and there are sometimes even three prongs. Further- 

 more, it is now certainly known that the Pronghorn sheds its 

 horns not merely occasionally, but with definite annual periodicity. 

 It so far resembles the Deer. But it must be borne in mind that 

 in the Deer the horn shedding is a twofold process. There is first 

 of all the stripping off of the velvet, and secondly the shedding 

 of a portion of the horn core down to the burr. What happens 

 in the Prongbuck is the shedding of the true horn only ( = the 

 shedding of the velvet), not of the horn core. It appears, how- 

 ever, that occasionally (once in their lifetime ?) certain undoubted 

 Antelopes may cast their horns. 1 Another external character of 

 this animal is the total absence of " false hoofs," the last vestiges 

 of the second and fifth digits. The Pronghorn is a gregarious 

 creature running in bands of six up to hundreds. 



Fam. 9. Bovidae. This family, more extensive than that of 

 the Cervidae, contains not only the Oxen, Sheep, and Goats, but 

 also the Antelopes, save only Antilocapra, which must be placed 

 in a family by itself. The only two points which distinguish 

 all Bovidae from all Cervidae 2 are the nature of the horns 

 already described, and the polycotyledonary condition of the 

 placenta. Moreover the horns are usually present in both sexes, 

 though there are exceptions, such as the Sheep and Goats, and 

 various genera of Antelopes (Tragelaphus, Tetraceros, etc.). There 

 are never the first two phalanges belonging to the rudimentary 

 digits II., V., as there are in all Deer excepting Cervulus. There 

 is as a rule but one orifice to the lachrymal duct. There are 

 never persistent upper canine teeth in either sex. 



It is exceedingly difficult to separate the Antelopes from the 

 Sheep, Oxen, and Goats. Their inclusion along with these creatures 

 in one family, Bovidae, shows that no differences of an important 

 character exist. The term Antelope is rather of popular than 



1 "On the Shedding of the Horns in the Prongbuck," see Bartlett, Proc. Zool. 

 Soc. 1865, p. 718 ; Canfield, ibid. 1866, p. 105 ; Murie, ibid. 1870, p. 334 ; and 

 Forbes, ibid. 1880, p. 540. 



2 The distinction between the two families has been called " fanciful." It may 

 be admitted that it is not great. 



