Spitzbergen Reindeer — Woodland Reindeer 29 



THE SPITZBERGEN REINDEER 



[Rangifcr tarandiis spctsbergcnsis) 



Till recently our information with regard to the Spitzbergen reindeer, 

 which was described in 1862 as a distinct race, was by no means so full 

 as might be desired ; but an elaborate memoir (" Ricerce in torno alle 

 Renne delle Isole Spitzberghe ") has lately been published by Signor S. 

 Camerano in Mcmork dclla Ri'ak Academia Scicnze di Tori?io^ ser. 2, vol. li. 

 pp. 159-240 (1901). The most characteristic feature of this race is the 

 form of the nasal bones of the skull, which differ remarkably from those of 

 the Scandinavian reindeer. Details are given in the memoir cited as to 

 the difference in form of the antlers from those of the Scandinavian rein- 

 deer. In the British Museum example the antlers approximate to the 

 Scandinavian type, but are smaller and have a shorter beam, the right 

 brow-tine being much more expanded than the left. 



THE WOODLAND REINDEER, OR CARIBOU 



{Rcmgifer tarandus carihoii) 



(Plate I. Fig. 6) 



A magnificent mounted stag (unfortunately with the antlers in velvet), 

 presented many years ago to the British Museum by the Hudson Bay 

 Company, serves to show how essentially different is the woodland reindeer 

 of North America from its Scandinavian cousin, of which the male and 

 female referred to above stand alongside. Not only is the woodland race 

 much the larger and heavier animal of the two, but it differs widely in the 

 form of both its feet and its antlers, to say nothing of certain details of 

 coloration. The comparative shortness, flatness, and massiveness of the 



