Rev. S. Haughton on the Fossil Red Deer of Ireland. 445 



ence, among these bones, of two complete spinal columns, from 

 an examination of which it became evident that the fossil Red 

 Deer of Fermanagh had 14 ribs; so that its vertebrae, as com- 

 pared with the living Red Deer, are as follows : — 



Fossil Red Deer. Recent Red Deer. 



7 cervical. 7 cervical. 



14 dorsal. 13 dorsal. 



5 lumbar. 6 lumbar. 



26 26 



On examining the teeth, I found the posterior molars tri- 

 lobate, while those of the recent Red Deer are, at least some- 

 times, only bilobate ; however, on examining for me an excellent 

 skeleton of the recent Red Deer preserved in the Museum of the 

 Royal Dublin Society, Dr. A. Carte found the posterior molar of 

 one side bilobate, and that of the other side trilobate — thus 

 demonstrating the trivial character of the lobation of the molars. 

 Two of the tarsal bones, also, were soldered together in both 

 legs, while they are separate in the recent Red Deer ; but upon 

 this character I am not disposed to lay much stress, as it fre- 

 quently occurs in the Cervus megaceros, and is probably the 

 result either of old age or of rheumatic disease of the ankle- 

 joint. 



It will be observed, from the list of bones, that six individuals, 

 at least, contributed their remains to the " find " of the Bohoe 

 bones. 



These bones are considerably larger than those of the only 

 two skeletons of Red Deer to which I have had access, and are 

 also larger than the corresponding bones of the fossil Reindeer 

 in the Royal Dublin Society's Museum. This fact and the 

 presence, in two specimens, of 14 instead of 13 dorsal vertebrae 

 indicate a considerable difference between the fossil Red Deer 

 of Ireland and the existing Red Deer, and may justify the name 

 by which the fossil Red Deer is known in many parts of Ireland 

 — viz. the Marsh Deer, which is considered to be like, but not 

 the same as, the Red Deer. 



The restored skeletons of the Fermanagh Red Deer are pre- 

 served in the Museums of Trinity College and of the Royal 

 Dublin Society, and are well worthy of the examination of 

 anatomists. 



I believe that we are entitled to consider our fossil Red Deer 

 as a well-marked variety, and would propose for it the provi- 

 sional name of Cervus elaphus, var. fossilis Hibernica. 



In addition to the bones described above, the skull of a pig- 

 was found ; and the animal to which it had belonged had evi- 



