DEER. 
343 
Other Characters.. 
the beam may either be divided into two or three tines (as in the figure on p. 
340), or may be split up into an almost indefinite number of snags, radiating out¬ 
wards from a kind of cup; but in any case these terminal snags, irrespective of 
their number, are collectively spoken of as the surroyals, or the crown of the antler. 
It will be seen from the figure that in many deer the bez-tine of the antler is 
wanting; but of this and other variations in form more will be said later on. 
Having thus noticed that the deer are more satisfactorily dis¬ 
tinguished by the presence of antlers in the males, we have now to 
mention certain characters which will aid in distinguishing from other Ruminants 
those members of the family in which the antlers are wanting. In the first place, 
all deer have a very large unossified space in the skull in advance of the orbit, 
this space being so extensive as to prevent the lachrymal bone from coming in 
contact with the nasal bone, as it does in the Ox family. Of less importance is the 
circumstance that the first molar tooth in each jaw has a short crown. As a rule, 
tusks or canine teeth are usually present in the upper jaw; and since these are 
always developed in those forms unprovided with antlers we have a ready means 
of distinction from the Ox family, in which there are never upper tusks. Moreover, 
with the single exception of the musk-deer, no member of the family has the gall¬ 
bladder, so constantly present in the Bovidce. From both the prongbuck and the 
giraffe the deer are distinguished by the presence of well-developed lateral hoofs 
in both feet. It may also be mentioned that whereas in the Bovidce these lateral 
toes are represented merely by the bones of the toes themselves and the terminal 
hoofs, a large number of deer have remnants of the lower extremities of their 
supporting metacarpal and metatarsal bones lying alongside of the cannon-bone. 
In all deer the end of the muzzle is naked, and there is a gland in front of the eye. 
Although numerically far inferior to the Bovidce, the deer-tribe 
includes a large assemblage of species, which may be grouped under 
several generic headings, and have a wide geographical distribution. In the Old 
World deer are found over the greater part of Europe and Asia, but are quite 
unknown in Africa south of the Sahara—the Ethiopian region of zoologists. Three 
of the Old World species, representing as many genera, extend into North America; 
but the other New World forms, which range as far south as Chili, belong to quite 
a different type from any of those inhabiting the Eastern Hemisphere. 
Deer are for the most part inhabitants of forests or grass-jungles, 
and are never found in desert districts. They are an older group than 
any of the other typical Ruminants, making their appearance in the lower portion 
of the Miocene period, where the species were of small size, and for the most part 
unprovided with antlers. 
Distribution. 
The Red Deer Group (Cervus elaphus, etc.). 
The well-known red deer of Europe is the typical representative of the genus 
Cervus, and belongs to a group containing several species or varieties, which is 
distributed over Europe, Asia (north of the Himalaya), Northern Africa, and North 
America, and is mainly characterised by the conformation of the antlers. These 
(as shown in the illustration and in A of the figure on p. 340) have both a brow and 
