MAMMALIA. 11 



or deciduous ; the form of the upper lip, whether thin and at- 

 tenuated as in the Goaty or terminating in a broad heavy naked 

 muzzle as in the Ox, and the existence of lachrymal sinuses and 

 interdigital pores, are the characters which really influence the 

 habits and ceconomy of Ruminating animals, and upon which 

 their generic distinction mainly depends." 



He continues : " That the presence or absence of horns in 

 the female regulates in a great measure the social intercourse 

 of the sexes ; that upon the form of the lips and muzzle, the 

 only organs of touch and prehension among the Ruminantia, de- 

 pends the nature of the food and habitat, making the animal a 

 grazer or a browser, as the case may be ; and that the existence 

 or non-existence of the interdigital glands, the uses of which 

 appear to be to lubricate the hoofs, has a very extensive in- 

 fluence upon the geographical distribution of the species, con- 

 fining them to the rich savannah and moist forest, or enabling 

 them to roam over the arid mountain, the parched karroo, and 

 the burning desert." 



Mr. H. N. Turner observes : " It is certainly remarkable, that 

 while the teeth have contributed so important a share in the 

 characters by which the Mammalia have been arranged by va- 

 rious authors, they should have been so entirely overlooked in 

 the members of the present division; for notwithstanding the 

 great uniformity and strongly-marked character pervading the 

 Ruminant dentition, very decided characters may frequently be 

 found in the form and direction of the incisors, and in the pre- 

 sence or absence of the supplemental lobe in the molars ; and it 

 is the more to be wondered at when we consider that the incisors, 

 from their position, may often easily be seen in dried specimens, 

 and that the character alluded to in the molars has been found 

 of considerable value in the interpretation of fossil remains." 

 Proc. Zool. Soc. 1849. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE TRIBES. 



I. Horns permanent, covered with a permanent horny coat or 

 hairy skin. Cutting teeth only in lower jaw. 



1. BOVINA. Horns covered with horny sheaths. 



2. GIRAFFINA. Horns covered with a hairy skin, with a tuft 



of hair at the tip. 



IT. Horns deciduous, covered when young with a deciduous 

 hairy skin, or entirely wanting. 



3. CERVINA. Cutting teeth none above. Horns deciduous. 



Back of tarsus hairy. 



