DEER. 



543 



the beam may either be divided into two or three tines (as in the figure on p. 

 340), or may be split up into an almost indefinite number of snags, radiating out- 

 wards from a kind of cup ; but in any case these terminal snags, irrespective of 

 their number, are collectively spoken of as the surroyals, or the crown of the antler. 

 It will be seen from the figure that in many deer the bez-tine of the antler is 

 wanting ; but of this and other variations in form more will be said later on. 



Having thus noticed that the deer are more satisfactorily dis- 

 Other Characters. ° . u 



tmguished by the presence of antlers in the males, we have now to 



mention certain characters which will aid in distinguishing from other Ruminants 

 those members of the family in which the antlers are wanting. In the first place, 

 all deer have a very large unossified space in the skull in advance of the orbit, 

 this space being so extensive as to prevent the lachrymal bone from coming in 

 contact with the nasal bone, as it does in the Ox family. Of less importance is the 

 circumstance that the first molar tooth in each jaw lias a short crown. As a rule, 

 tusks or canine teeth are usually present in the upper jaw ; and since these are 

 always developed in those forms unprovided with antlers we have a ready means 

 of distinction from the Ox family, in which there are never upper tusks. Moreover, 

 with the single exception of the musk-deer, no member of the family has the gall- 

 bladder, so constantly present in the Bovidce. From both the prongbuck and the 

 giraffe the deer are distinguished by the presence of well-developed lateral hoofs 

 in both feet. It may also be mentioned that whereas in the Bovidce these lateral 

 toes are represented merely by the bones of the toes themselves and the terminal 

 hoofs, a large number of deer have remnants of the lower extremities of their 

 supporting metacarpal and metatarsal bones lying alongside of the cannon-bone. 

 In all deer the end of the muzzle is naked, and there is a gland in front of the eye. 



Although numerically far inferior to the Bovidce, the deer-tribe 

 Distribution. . & ... 



includes a large assemblage of species, which may be grouped under 



several generic headings, and have a wide geographical distribution. In the Old 



World deer are found over the greater part of Europe and Asia, but are quite 



unknown in Africa south of the Sahara — the Ethiopian region of zoologists. Three 



of the Old World species, representing as many genera, extend into North America : 



but the other New World forms, which range as far south as Chili, belong to quite 



a different type from any of those inhabiting the Eastern Hemisphere. 



Deer are for the most part inhabitants of forests or grass-junglt s. 



and are never found in desert districts. They are an older group than 



any of the other typical Ruminants, making their appearance in the lower portion 



of the Miocene period, where the species were of small size, and for the most part 



unprovided with antlers. 



The Red Deer Group (Cervus elaphus, etc.). 



The well-known red deer of Europe is the typical representative of the gvims 

 Cervus, and belongs to a group containing several species or varieties, which is 

 distributed over Europe, Asia (north of the Himalaya), Northern Africa, and North 

 America, and is mainly characterised by the conformation of the antlers. These 

 (as shown in the illustration and in A of the figure on p. 340) have both a brow and 



