FAMILY CERVID^E. 113 



FAMILY VI. CERVIDM. 



Horns solid, deciduous, [in most of the genera, in the male only.) No incisors above, eight 

 beneath. Occasionally canines above. A sub-orbital sinus, or glandular cavity at the inner 

 angle of the eye ; pujnls elongated. Tail short. Legs slender. Feet bisulcated. 



Obs. This family, which is founded on the old linnean genus Cervus or Deer, now comprises 

 forty-five real or nominal species, distributed, according to the ideas of systematic writers, 

 into eight or ten genera. But six species are found within the United States, and of these, 

 three only exist in the State of New- York. 



GENUS CERVUS. 



Horns always present in the males, branched, sub-palmated or simple ; the horn arising 

 rounded from a burr or rose-shaped base. Ears large. Mamma four, inguinal. No canine 

 teeth. A muzzle. Tail short, bushy. 



THE AMERICAN DEER. 



Cervus virginianus. 



PLATE XXVIII. FIG. I. 



Dama virginiana: Ray, Syn. Quad. p. 86: F. Cuvier, Mamm. lithog. plate. 



Cervus virginianus. Harlan, Fauna Amer. p. 239. Godman, Am. Nat. Hist. Vol.2, p. 306, plate. 



Mazama id. Hamilton Smith, Griffith's Cuv. Vol. 4, p. 127, and Vol. 5, p. 315. 



C. (Mazama) mexicanus et clavatus. Hamilton Smith, lb. p. 315. 



Fallow Deer. Emmons, Mass. Report, 1840, p. 81. 



Characteristics. Reddish or bluish grey, according to the season. Young, spotted with white. 

 Horns moderate, curving forward, with the concave part in front, with from 

 one to six points, occasionally palmated. 



Description. Head long and slender. Muzzle pointed. Eyes large and lustrous, the lachry- 

 mal pits consisting of a slight fold of the skin. Tail moderate, depressed. Legs slender. A 

 glandular pouch concealed by a thick tuft of rigid hairs inside of the hind legs, odoriferous, 

 and connected with the sexual appetite. The horns of the adult male vary so much in shape, 

 that scarcely any two are alike ; appearing to depend upon age, season, and abundance or 

 scarcity of food. In the first season they are simple, cylindrical and pointed, and in this state 

 they are known as spike bucks ; in the following season, they have a short, straight antler ; 

 and the number increases until the fzurth season, when the following is the most usual con- 

 dition of the horns : The main stem rises upward and laterally, and then makes a broad curve 

 forward, with the tips turned inward and downward ; on the inner and slightly anterior surface 

 of the main stem, arises a short brow antler, directed forward and upward ; the stem, thus 

 Fauna. 15 



