338 MAMMALIA : UNGULATA. LII. 



literates the blood-vessels supplying the velvet, which dries up and 

 is stripped off, leaving the bone hard and insensible ; the horns or 

 " antlers " are shed annually, the separation of the " beam " from 

 its "pedicel" taking place just below the burr; antlers are want- 

 ing in the female (excepting in the Reindeer), but they are present 

 in the male of nearly all species. Stomach in four divisions, 

 of the ordinary ruminant pattern. Dental formula, i. |^:| ; c. 

 (usually) ^:f ; pm. |:| ; m. |:|. A widely distributed family of 

 about 13 genera. 



o. Horns present in males only. 

 b. Horns rounded more or less; rarely sub-palmated ; nose naked and moist, 

 c. Horns small, curving forward, the first snag short, at some distance 

 above the base, and like the others curving upward; tail rather long; 



hoofs rather elongate Odocoilkus, 588. 



cc. Horns large, curving backward, with the snags all directed forward, 

 one of them immediately above the burr; tail very short; hoofs 



broad and rounded Ceevus, 589. 



bb. Horns very broadly palraated to the tip; nose very broad, entirely 



hairy except a small naked spot between nostrils. . . Alces, 590. 



aa. Horns (present in both sexes) broadly palmated at tip ; nose entirely 



hairy Eangifeb, 591. 



588. ODOCOILETJS Kafinesque. (oSouj, tooth ; koiXos, hollow.) 



1118. O.i americanusfErxleben). VinGisriA Deer. Red Deek. 

 General color chestnut red, grayish in winter ; tail white below. 

 Maine to Great Plains and S., formerly very common, and still 

 abundant in wild districts. Subspec. macrourus (Rafinesque). 

 White Tailed Deer. Yellowish gray, waved with dusky; 

 lower side of tail, etc., white; chin mostly white; size of preced- 

 ing. Dak. to Texas and W. (fuiKpos, long ; oipd, tail.) 



1119. O. hemionus (Rafinesque). Mule Deer. Larger; ears 

 very long, nearly as long as tail. Ashy brown, a darker dorsal 

 stripe. Dak. to Ore. and S. (yfu-, half ; ovos, ass, mule.) 



589. CEHVUS Linnaeus. (Lat., stag.) 



1120. C. canadensis (Erxleben). Wapiti. Chestnut red, 

 grayish in winter ; size nearly equal to that of the Moose. N. Y. 

 to Wis., Wyo. and W., formerly S. to Tenn., now becoming rare, 

 extinct eastward ; commonly and wrongly called " Elk " in America ; 

 a noble animal related to the great Stag of Europe, Cervus elcphus 

 L. the " tall deer," beloved of England's sportsman-kings. 



590. ALCES Gray. (From Elk.) 



1121. A. americanus Jardine. Moose. True Elk. Tawny 

 above, yellowish below ; ears large ; profile of snout very convex. 



^ This is O. virginifinus (Boddaert), but Erxleben'a name is older, if available, aa 

 claimed by Mr. Outram Bangs. 



