LÖNNBERG, ON THE GEOGR. RACES OF RED DEER IN SCANDIN. 15 



aJready present during tlie latter part of the fir-period as 

 remains found in the peat-moors prove, but they became 

 more niimerous during the oak-period when it also came to 

 southern Sweden and from thence extended fnrther north. 

 During the Littorina-epoch v/lien the miid chmate allowed 

 them to do so the deer reached much higher latitudes than 

 låter on as the above quoted find in Dalecarlia indicates. 



Concerning the norwegian red deer two routes of immig- 

 ration must be discussed, beeause two different opinions 

 about this question are supported by different authors. Ac- 

 cording to one of these, which the present author regards 

 as the most probable, the red deer should have found its 

 way from Sweden to southern Norway and then from there 

 along the coast to western Norway where it gradually ex- 

 tended its distribution northward along the atlantic coast. 

 This same route is assumed by the botanists ^ for the immig- 

 ration of the oak-flora into Xorway. Somewhat låter dur- 

 ing the Littorina-epoch there came a new wave of immi- 

 grants along the western coasts of the Scandinavian penin- 

 sula which although still more sensitive to cold than the 

 oak-flora were favoured by the then much milder climate. 

 This was the Ilex-flora, named af ter its most characteristic 

 representative the hoUy, which now bas completely disappe- 

 ared on the swedish w^estcoast although it still lived there 

 less than a century ago and in the present day is flourishing 

 at the coast of western Norway. This has been mentioned 

 to show the analogy that exists between this route of immig- 

 ration here assumed for the norwegian red deer, and that 

 of other components of the organic life of westerii Norway, 

 an analogy which becomes the more striking as both cases 

 offer examples of broken connections. 



The other theory about the invasion of the norwegian 

 red deer has been proposed by Stejneger-. According to 

 this the norwegian red deer should^ have entered its present 

 home on a direct way from Scotland. When that should 

 have happened is not quite explicitely pronounced by the 

 author quoted, but it seems as if he should mean that it 

 was in preglacial time. Stejneger says namely that, accor- 



^ See: Gunnar Andersson: Svenska Växtvärldens Historia. Stock- 

 holm 1896. 



- Amer. Naturalist. Vol. XXXV. 1901. 



