LÖNNBERG, TAXONOMIC NOTES ABOUT PALEARCTIC EEINDEER. 9 



hind is much more strongly curved in the Scandinavian than 

 in the Finland race. This differenoe in sliape of the condyl- 

 es must be of physiological and biological importance. The 

 vertical position of the condyles facilitates a turning to the 

 sides of the head, and the transversal position makes it 

 easier for the animal to move the head in the vertical plan 

 and thus to put up the nose and lay the antiers backwards 

 to the sides of the neck which is very convenient if not ne- 

 cessary when the animal wants to force its way through a 

 dense growth in the woods. This shape of the condyles is 

 thus, no doubt, an adaptation to forest ]ife. 



The skull of a Reindeer stag shot in Carelia at Sortan- 

 valan and now belonging to the Zoological Museum of Hel- 

 singfors has also been put to my disposition through the 

 courtesy of Dr. Luther. This skull is remarkable for its 

 very large size, its basicranial length being 379 mm. It does 

 not agree in every detail with the skull from »Torne Lapp- 

 mark» described above, for instance, with regard to the re- 

 lative width of the nasals and the size of the lachrymal va- 

 cuity which is greater than in the specimen from Torne. 

 There cannot be any doubt, however, about its distinctness 

 from the Lapland or Sv/edish Reindeer and its belonging to 

 the same type as the skull from Torne. For this speaks in 

 addition to its great size the general shape of the skull and 

 the following characteristics : The deep depression of the 

 maxillaries in front of the lachrymal vacuities and the vault- 

 ed shape of the nasals; the length of the facial portion of 

 the skull (the distance from the orbit to the tips of the pre- 

 maxillaries is 261 mm., thus about 68,8 7o of the basicranial 

 length of the skull, while the same relation in the typical 

 R. tarandics is from 65,5 to 66,7 7o); the strongly protruding 

 orbits (the interorbital width at the middle of the orbits 

 being 155 mm.); the relative shortness of the molar series 

 which represents 25,8 7o of the basicranial length, thus con- 

 siderably less than in the Swedish and Norwegian Reindeer; 

 the relative thickness of the anterior facial portion of the 

 skull, the width of the skull on a level with the anterior end 

 of the nasals being 76 mm.; the great breadth of the occi- 

 pital region of the skull, the width of the skull, on a level 

 with meatiis auditorius being 155 mm. (conf. table of mea- 

 surements), while the height of the occipital surface is not 



