MAMMALIA. ll 
or deciduous; the form of the upper lip, whether thin and at- 
tenuated as in the Goat, or terminating m a broad heavy naked 
muzzle as in the Oz, and the existence of lachrymal sinuses and 
interdigital pores, are the characters which really mfluence the 
habits and ceconomy of Ruminating animals, and upon which 
their generic distinction mainly depends.” 
He continues :— That the presence or absence of horns in 
the female regulates in a great measure the social mtercourse 
of the sexes; that upon the form of the lips and muzzle, the 
only organs of touch and prehension among the Ruminantia, de- 
pends the nature of the food and habitat, making the animal a 
grazer or a browser, as the case may be; and that the existence 
or non-existence of the interdigital glands, the uses of which 
appear to be to lubricate the hoofs, has a very extensive in- 
fluence upon the geographical distribution of the species, con- 
fining them to the rich savannah and moist forest, or enabling 
them to roam over the arid mountain, the parched karroo, and 
the burning desert.” 
' Mr. H. N. Turner observes :—“ It is certainly remarkable, that 
while the teeth have contributed so important a share in the 
characters by which the Mammalia have been arranged by va- 
rious authors, they should have been so entirely overlooked in 
the members of the present division; for notwithstanding the 
great uniformity and strongly-marked character pervading the 
Ruminant dentition, very decided characters may frequently be 
found in the form and direction of the incisors, and in the pre- 
sence or absence of the supplemental lobe in the molars ; and it 
is the more to be wondered at whenwe consider that the incisors, 
from their position, may often easily be seen in dried specimens, 
and that the character alluded to in the molars has been found 
of considerable value in the interpretation of fossil remains.” — 
Proc. Zool. Soc. 1849, 
SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES. 
I. Horns permanent, covered with a permanent horny coat or 
hairy skin. Cutting teeth only in lower jaw. 
1. Bovina. Horns covered with horny sheaths. 
2. GrRAFFINA. Horns covered with a hairy skin, with a tuft 
of hair at the tip. 
II. Horns deciduous, covered when young with a deciduous 
hairy skin, or entirely wanting. 
3. Cervina. Cutting teeth none above. Horns deciduous. 
Back of tarsus hairy. 
