158 THE MAMMALIA. 



5. THE CERVIDJE. DEER AND THEIR KINDRED FORMS. 



Riitimeyer, in his ' Natural History of the Deer,' 

 when speaking of the characteristic features that 

 distinguish the various forms of deer, maintains 

 that the antlers are periodical, and that they are 

 attributes confined to the males of the species. 

 In looking for the relationship between the forms 

 principally in the female skull, as in the case of the 

 Ruminants he finds the character of the deer (as 

 compared with the antelopes and oxen) to consist 

 in the very elongated, almost cylindrical shape of 

 the skull. This is caused by the great length of 

 the olfactory tube with a lesser height of the toothed 

 portion of the upper jaw. The skull is elongated 

 and, as compared with the facial part, is less 

 voluminous than in the case of the horned animals ; 

 the brow is less of an abrupt incline, the axis of the 

 skull straight. The character of the head of the deer 

 may, of course, be thus described, and Riitimeyer 

 has endeavoured also to characterise the antelopes 

 and oxen. Still, it cannot be denied that the 

 antlers, nevertheless, play a very great part, and 

 that their existence is of decided importance in 

 the classification of the deer. 



The common Roe and Red Deer furnish us with 



