14 ARKIV FÖR ZOOLOGI. BAND 3. NIO 9. 



is subequal in both or a little broader in the Wurtemberg 

 deer, but always smaller than in the typical swedish race. 

 Tlie supraorbital foramina are rather large, especially in the 

 deer from Wnrtemberg. With regard to other dimensions 

 these skulls do not show any characteristics which are im- 

 portant enough to separate them inter se and the material 

 is not sufficient for the basing of any other conclusion than 

 t]iat they differ from both the scandinavian races. Profes- 

 sor Matschie has expressed ^ as his opinion that the antiers 

 of true bred stags from different parts of the oontinent could 

 be distinguished from .each other and he speaks about the 

 following geographical races »Kiistenhirsche», »deutsche In- 

 landshirsche» and »Donaiihirsche». The characteristics of the 

 skulls are, however, not mentioned and I cannot therefore 

 say in which relation these types may stånd to the scandi- 

 navian deer. 



With regard to exteriör characteristics the german red 

 deer differ from the swedish race in having black stripes 

 bordering the caudal disk and from the norwegian in such 

 a way as is q noted above from Leverkus-Leverkusen. 

 Tliere are thiis cranial as well as exteriör differences between 

 tlie german and scandinavian red deer. Desmarest's name 

 Cervus elwphus germayiicus may therefore be correctly used 

 for one of the races of the continent. 



The red deer of the Scandinavian Peninsula are of 

 course not endemic there, but have invaded it from some other 

 country in postglaciai time. It must namely be regarded as 

 satisfactorily proved by geolos"ical evidence that during the 

 glacial epoch every bit of the peninsula was covered by väst 

 masses of ice which must have killed and crushed every 

 trace of terrestrial animal life. The animals that now inhabit 

 these countries are thus the products of postglaciai invasions 

 from different sources. Concerning the swedish red deer there 

 cannot prevail the slightest doubt about its way of immi- 

 gration. It must have arrived in Sweden contemporaneously 

 with the oak-flora and a group of other animals during the 

 Ancylus-epoch wlien the Baltic Sea was a fresh water basin 

 and Sweden with Scania was firmly connected with the da- 

 nish islands and Jutland and thus a landbridge was formed 

 to the european continent. In Denmark the red deer was 



^ Das Waidwerk Bd. 11 N:o 12. 



