140 MAMMALIA ORDER VLUNGULATA. 



of the third and fourth inetacarpal bones ; the latter feature distinguishing ib 

 from all other selenodont Artiodactyles, In colour, it is deep brown, with 



longitudinal white stripes on the flanks, 

 spots of the same on the back, and a white 

 chest and throat. Both in this animal and 

 the true chevrotains the upper canines of 

 the males form tusks projecting below the 

 lip. In appearance they are very like minute 

 deer, having moderate-sized ears and a short 

 ta ^' kut tne nea d nas no bony or horny ap- 

 pendages. 



The deer tribe is the first of four families 

 Fig. 77. A CHEVROTAIN (Tragulus). constituting the true Ruminants, or Pecora. 



andincluding the whole of the remaining mem- 

 bers of the order. They derive their name of Ruminants from their power of 

 chewing the cud a feature which they possess in common \vith the camel tribe 

 and chevrotains ; and they agree with the latter group in 

 The Deer Tribe, lacking upper incisors, and in having the lower canine ap- 

 Family proximated to and resembling the lower incisors as well as 

 CervidcK. in the union of the cuboid and navicular bones in the ankle- 

 joint, and in the covering of the toes taking the form of 

 horny hoofs. From the chevrotains they may be distinguished by the stomach 

 being divided into four distinct compartments, by the anterior, or odontoid 

 process of the second vertebra of the neck assuming the form of a spout, or 

 half-cylinder, and by the fibula of the hind-leg being reduced to a mere 

 nodule representing the lower extremity of the complete bone, and articu- 

 lated to the tibia. Another point of distinction is that the lateral metacarpal 

 and metatarsal bones of the feet are never complete, but are represented 

 only by their upper or lower ends. Very generally the skull is provided 

 with a pair of laterally placed appendages, which may be either unbranched, 

 covered with horn, and permanent, or branched, bony, and deciduous. 

 When such appendages are present, the upper canines are generally small or 

 wanting ; but when the former are absent, the latter are frequently large. 

 As a source of food, the true Ruminants are by far the most important of 

 all animals to the human race. Unknown in Australia and New Guinea, 



World the only members of 



As a family, the deer tribe are generally distinguished by the heads of the 

 males being ornamented with the branching deciduous appendages properly 

 known as antlers, although often wrongly termed horns ; these when fully 

 developed consisting simply of lifeless bone, and being nearly always shed 

 annually, to be reproduced in a somewhat more complex form the following 

 season. Both sexes usually have well- developed upper canines, which may 

 attain very large dimensions in the males, especially in the few instances 

 where antlers are wanting. The face is always provided with the so-called 

 larmiers, or tear-pits, below the eyes ; and the underlying region of the 

 skull always has a very large unossified vacuity. As a general rule, both 

 fore and hind-feet carry four toes ; and very often the lower ends of the 

 lateral metacarpal and metatarsal bones persist. With the single exception 

 of the musk-deer, the liver is provided with a gall-bladder. 



It would require too much space to describe the mode in which antlers ara 



