Suuaufk, Seymour, and Newton — Qastlepook Cave 63 



the possession of a narrow lachrymal vacuity measuring but 6 mill, in width, 

 compared with a width of 16 mill, in the Ashbourne skull, and 17 mill, in a 

 skull from Greenland. Similarly, the width of the nasal bone, just in front 

 of this lachrymal vacuity, measures 35 mill, both in the Ashbourne and in the 

 adult Greenland skull. 



In the great length of the nasal bones (131 mill.) the Ashbourne skull of 

 the Irish Reindeer surpasses even the Siberian Eeindeer (cf. Lonnberg, p. 17), 

 in which the nasals measured 129 mill. In the Greenland skull the nasals 

 are quite short (100 mill, in length), and arched above the level of the 

 adjoining maxillary bones. In the Ashbourne skull the nasals are flat, 

 as in the wild Swedish Eeindeer (cf. Lonnberg, fig. 1). In the Swedish 

 skull, preserved in the Dublin Museum, however, the nasals are arched ; and 

 I altogether doubt whether this particular structural character of the nasal 

 bones is of such importance as we are led to believe. Indeed, in the 

 Ashbourne skull the apparent flatness of the nasals is largely due to the 

 greater bulging outward and upward of the maxillary bones. The width of 

 the nasal cavity was much greater in the ancient Irish Eeindeer than in the 

 modern Greenland form. Would it be permissible to argue from this fact 

 that the Irish Eeindeer had greater need for or made greater use of its nasal 

 cavity than its Greenland relation ? Whatever the cause of this modification 

 may be. the extinct Irish Eeindeer seems to have been more nearly related to 

 the existing Greenland form than to the others. 



Let us reconsider the points of relationship between the Irish, the 

 Scandinavian, and Greenland varieties : — 



1. The Irish Eeindeer resembled the Scandinavian and Greenland forms, 



and differed from the Siberian in the structure of its antlers. 



2. The Irish Eeindeer resembled the Greenland form, and differed from 



the Scandinavian in the shape of the lachrymal vacuity. 



3. The Irish Eeindeer resembled the Greenland form, and differed from 



the Scandinavian in the width of the nasal bones. 



4. The Irish Eeindeer differed from both the Scandinavian and Greenland 



forms, and resembled the Siberian in the length of the nasal bones. 



The Irish variety or race of the Eeindeer deserves a distinct name, for which 

 I would propose Rangifer tarandus hiberiiicus; but until more material is 

 forthcoming, especially from Siberia, we are not in a position to draw very 

 definite conclusions as to the relationship of the different forms of the 

 Eeindeer. 



[Eed Deer (Ccrvus elaphus).~] 



The complete absence of the Eed Deer from the deposits is one of the 



