80 QUADRUPEDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



The differences are well marked and constant. For example, 

 the male and female are both supplied with antlers ; the presence 

 also of the canine tooth is another very important difference ; 

 and again the structure of the hoof, and, lastly, the general shape 

 and form of the body, though the most important differences are 

 those relating to the teeth, and to the form and structure of the 

 hoof. From an opportunity which I had of examining the skull 

 of the Californian Moose, I was led to infer that it resembled 

 more the Caribou of Nova Scotia, than the Moose, inasmuch as 

 its size was less than the Moose, and it possessed the canine tooth. 

 The form of this tooth is, however, very different, and would 

 constitute, were there no other differences, a good specific charac- 

 ter. There are many important differences in the skull of the 

 Moose and Caribou, which it may be well to notice. In the 

 Caribou, the nasal bones are longer, and these, together with the 

 maxillae, form a nearly cylindrical portion of the face below the 

 eyes, whereas, in the Moose, this portion is compressed and 

 flattened. The depression between the eyes is less in the Cari- 

 bou than in the Moose. In the Caribou, the horns are placed 

 farther from the eyes, while in the Moose, they stand over, and 

 rest nearly on the superior and posterior portion of the orbit, 

 and the cuneiform process is much wider, and the nasal septum 

 extends backwards, and rests on its anterior portion in the former 

 animal. The whole length of the skull in the Caribou, is pro- 

 portionally longer, reckoning from the crest to the inferior termi- 

 nation of the nasal bones ; while, in the Moose, the prolongation 

 of the nose is greater than in the Caribou, there being a great ex- 

 tent of cartilage, while, in addition to length, it forms a high arch, 

 as in the horse. The prominence in the os frontis of the Moose, 

 is situated a little higher than the horns, but, in the Caribou, 

 lower, making the depression, spoken of above, nearly between 

 the eyes, while, in the Moose, it is above. Again, in the Cari- 

 bou, the base on which the antlers are implanted, projects upward 

 and backward, but in the Moose, laterally. 



