FAMILY. 



* i CERVIDAE. 



lacisors ; canines '^i, or wanting ; molars 6 1. Horns solid, deciduous, (except in the giraffe,) not encased by horn } 

 sometimes wanting. Feet bifid. 



The members of this family agree with the following in the dentition and structure, and shape 

 of the feet ; they differ, however, in the character of the horns when present, (they are wanting 

 in the musk deer.) There is not the same variety of shape as in the hollow-horned ruminants, 

 although there are several very distinct forms of generic and sub-generic value. 



The deer are very widely spread over the whole world, few regions being without one or more 

 peculiar species. They appear able to withstand the rigor of an arctic winter, or the fiercest 

 rays of the tropics. The new world possesses quite a notable proportion of the species ; no less 

 than nine of which are found in North America alone. 



There are three principal divisions of this family ; the musk deer, the true deer, and the 

 giraffes. The musks differ from the true deer in being without horns, and any lachrymal sinus. 

 The male has canine teeth usually projecting far beyond the mouth. Their size is very small, 

 some of the species being by far the smallest known ruminants. The camelopard has short, 

 solid horns, which are covered by the skin. The feet, too, though didactyle, are without the 

 accessory hoofs of the deer. 



Of the musk deer, there are no living representatives in America. Some of the fossil forms 

 from the Mauvaises Terres of Nebraska approach very closely to them, however. There is 

 nothing at all similar to the giraffe on this continent. 



