284 American Deer 



Characters. — Largest of the South American deer, the size being appar- 

 ently fully equal to that of a red deer, but the build more slender. Antlers 

 large and rugose, with both prongs of the main fork dividing more than 

 once, and the upper prong usually somewhat larger than the lower one. 

 Muzzle bluntly pointed ; ears large, and filled internally with woolly white 

 hair ; tail bushy. Hair long and coarse, without radiating whorls on the 

 hack and neck. General colour of upper-parts bright rufous chestnut in 



Fin. 73. — Side view of Antlers of" Marsh-Dccr. From a specimen in the British Museum. 



summer, in winter brownish red, becoming lighter on the flanks, neck, and 

 chest ; legs black from the knee and hock downwards, and the tarsal tuft 

 also black ; abdomen, inside of thighs, throat, chin, and inside and base of 

 back of ears white or yellowish white ; a whitish line above, or a ring 

 round the eyes, most marked in the hinds ; a black band on the muzzle and 

 upper lip, joining a median dark streak on the nose, and black markings on 

 the under lip ; tail yellowish rusty red above and black beneath. In 

 immature hinds the limbs are less black, showing fawn on the sides 



