ii2 CHARACTERS OF VERTEBRATE ANIMALS 



caves of Britain and other countries. Indeed they were so 

 characteristic of a stage in human history, when carefully-chipped 

 stone weapons and implements had replaced the cruder attempts 

 in this direction, that the term " Reindeer Age " is often applied 

 to the period in question. A marked peculiarity is the presence 

 of antlers in both sexes, these structures being of great length 

 and set on far back. There is a brow-tine, greatly developed 

 and branched in the male, just above this a bez-tine, and then a 

 long beam, the end of which is palmated. The two antlers are 

 commonly markedly unlike one another. The main hoofs are 

 very broad and flat, and separate when the feet are brought to 

 the ground, afterwards clapping together in a curious way when 

 the feet are raised. 



The largest living species of deer is the Elk or Moose (Alces 

 machlis], the distribution of which roughly corresponds to that 

 of the reindeer, though it does not range into those extreme 

 northerly regions from which trees are absent. The long head 

 terminates in a muzzle of curious humped appearance, suggesting 

 a Roman nose ; the neck is short, and the body slopes markedly 

 from front to rear. The long legs are provided with broad hoofs. 

 Many peculiarities are presented by the massive antlers, which, 

 beginning with short beams devoid of tines, expand laterally into 

 broad palmated portions. A curious feature of the male is the 

 presence of a flap of skin hanging down from the under side 

 of the neck. 



The remaining species of which space permits a mention 

 is the little Roe Deer (Capreolus caprea), our second native 

 form, though now only found in Scotland as a truly wild animal. 

 From Britain it ranges east through Europe into Persia. The 

 rough antlers are of simple conformation. The beam rises 

 vertically from the top of the head, gives off a front tine about 

 the middle of its length, and then curves back to end in a simple 

 fork. 



3. The Prongbuck Family contains only the single species 

 (Antilocapra Americana), to which it owes its name (fig. 77). 

 It is a small active animal found in the temperate parts of western 

 North America. Although in appearance suggesting a deer, its 

 affinities are rather with the antelope section of the family of oxen. 

 The horns, however, present a remarkable peculiarity, for though 

 they consist of bony cores covered by horny sheaths, as in an 



