THE TEETH OF ARTIODACTYLE UNGULATA. 335 



Grouped with the six incisors of the lower jaw, and in no 

 respect differing from them, rise the pair of teeth which are 

 very arbitrarily termed " canines." As I cannot attempt to 

 do more in these pages than give the most bare outline of 

 generally well-known facts, I have retained the usual dental 



formula, i -~ c ~-r ; though under protest, as I do not con- 

 o 1 



sider the " canine " to have any such distinct existence as 

 would justify our calling a tooth which is so obviously refer- 

 able to the incisors by any distinctive name. 



Although the absence of upper canine teeth is a very 

 general characteristic of ruminants, rudimentary canines 

 exist in some deer, and I am indebted to the kindness of 

 Sir Victor Brooke, a high authority upon the Cervidce, for 

 the following : 



" The upper canines are present in both sexes in all the 

 species of cervidce, with the exception of Alces, Rangifer, 

 Dama, some smaller species of Rusa, Axis, Capreolus, Caria- 

 cus, Blastocerus, Coassus, and Pudu. The upper canines, 

 when present, are with the notable exception of Moschus, 

 Elaphodus, Cervulus, and Hydropotes, small laterally com- 

 pressed rudimentary teeth. Their crowns are in about the 

 same stage of reduction as the crowns of horses' canines, 

 but their roots are relatively nmch more reduced." Hence 

 they are often lost in dried skulls, and it has generally been 

 supposed that but few deer possessed canines at all. 



The hornless musk deer possesses upper canines of most 

 formidable dimensions, while the female has very small 

 subcylindrical canines. 



The male pigmy musk deer (Tragulus) has large canines 

 of persistent growth, the female small canines with closed 

 roots. 



The Indian Muntjac deer (Cervulus) has somewhat small 

 horns, which are perched upon persistent bony pedicles, 

 and it has upper canines which are curved outwards from 



