MAMMALIA iii 



the under side of the body in the male. Musk Deer are active 

 creatures inhabiting the high land of Central Asia. 



The Chinese Water Deer {Hydropotes inermis), which lives 

 on the banks of the Yang-tse-Kiang, shares with the preceding 

 species the two primitive characters of tusk-like upper canines 

 and absence of antlers in the male. This does not, however, 

 indicate any special relationship between the two forms. 



The Red Deer {Cervus elaphus) is still numbered among 

 British mammals, though in the wild state it is now restricted 

 to the remoter parts of Scotland 

 and Ireland, with isolated patches 

 in England. It is characterized by 

 the complex antlers (fig. 76), which 

 have a brow- tine projecting over 

 the forehead, a bez-tine above this, 

 and, in mature specimens, a terminal 

 cluster of twelve or more points. 

 Outside Britain this species has a 

 wide distribution through the tem- 

 perate parts of Europe and Asia. Fig, ye.-AnUers of Red Deer 



The largfe Wapiti (so-called "Elk") ^''- ^row-tine; te. bez-tine; «.n antlerroyal; 

 o ir \ / s.r. sur-royal. 



of North America (Cervus Canaden- 

 sis) is closely allied to the Red Deer. Ranging at one time over 

 most of North America, it is now restricted to the mountainous 

 parts of the Western States and to British territory in the north. 



The familiar Fallow Deer {Cervus damd) is not a native of 

 these islands, though introduced at an early date, but is indigenous 

 to the Mediterranean countries. It is much smaller than the Red 

 Deer, and the antlers are of different formation. They are said 

 to be " palmated ", i.e. ending in a broad expansion divided into 

 points, and compared to a hand with its fingers. Below this 

 expanded portion is a branch called the trez-tine, and a good way 

 below this a prominent brow-tine juts out. 



Great interest attaches to the Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) 

 for several reasons, one being their great importance to certain 

 primitive peoples as domestic animals. At the present time 

 they are limited to the northern parts of both hemispheres, 

 but in prehistoric times, when the climate of the northern hemi- 

 sphere was much more rigorous than now, their range extended 

 much farther south, as evidenced by remains found in the 



