264 American Deer 



species. But the antlers are essentially only a degraded type of those of the 

 Mexican race, and too little is known of the functional importance of the 

 metatarsal gland to render its absence necessarily a specific character. 

 Moveover, its small size, or absence in the variety nemoralis, indicates a 

 transition from the typical race to the present one. 



Distribution. — Yucatan and part of Southern Mexico. 



Habits. — Of the habits of this deer in a wild state I can find no record. 

 In captivity, according to Mr. Caton, it displays great pugnacity, the bucks 

 not hesitating to attack other deer of three times their size and weight, and 

 beating them by sheer courage and pluck. They are hardy and breed 

 readily, although it has not been ascertained for how many generations this 

 will continue. Although living naturally in the torrid zone, they will 

 withstand a temperature some degrees below zero, and thus present a 

 remarkable contrast to the mule-deer and black-tail. Mr. True has 

 suggested that de Saussure's toltecus is the same as sartorii, in which case 

 yucatanensis will be the name of the present race. 



//. Central American Race — Mazama Americana nemoralis 



Cervus {Mazama) nemoralis, H. Smith, in Griffith's Animal Kingdom, vol. 

 iv. p. 137, v. p. 317 (1827). 



Mazama nemoralis, Jardine, Naturalist' s Library — Mamm. vol. iii. p. 175 



(i835)- 



Cariacus nemoralis, Lesson, Nouv. Table Hist. Nat. p. 173 (1842) ; Gray, 

 Cat. Ungulata Brit. Mus. p. 232 (1852) ; Matschie, Mitt, geogr. Ges. Lubeck, 

 1894, p. 130. 



Cervus nemoralis, Pucheran, Arch. Mus. Paris, vol. vi. p. 336 (1852) ; 

 Brooke, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1878, p. 919, as synonym of mexicanus. 



Reduncina nemoralis, Fitzinger, SB. Ak. Wien, vol. lxviii. part i. p. 357 

 (1873), lxxviii. part i. p. 338 (1879). 



Characters. — Apparently nearly allied to the last, but with the metatarsal 

 gland usually remaining, although very small, with scarcely any white, and 

 situated near the middle of the cannon-bone. A female from Guatemala 

 mentioned by Victor Brooke (as 6'. mexicanus) measured 27 1 inches at the 

 shoulder ; and antlers from the same locality have six points. The follow- 

 ing description of the coloration is given by Dr. Gray on the evidence of a 



