Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/761

 DEER 757 ruminants feeding only on vegetable substances ; they have no gall bladder. The external covering consists of close and thick crisp hair, with a kind of wool next the skin in the species of cold regions ; the general color is a variety of shades of brown, with rufous tints and white spots. The senses of smell, hear- ing, and sight are very acute, enabling them to detect their enemies at a distance. Under each eye in most is a sinus, which secretes largely a viscid fluid like tears, whence the French call these gland-containing sacs lar- miers ; they communicate with the nose by the lachrymal ducts ; the secretion is the most profuse during the rutting season. Deer are capable of a certain degree of do- mestication, and the reindeer may be com- pletely subjected to man ; some species reside in thick forests, others in open plains, and oth- ers in swampy districts. All the arrangements of this group are more or less artificial and un- natural ; but there are several subdivisions generally admitted, founded on similarity of structure and on geographical limitation, which are of advantage in classification. Cuvier, De Blainville, and more especially Col. Hamilton Smith, made the horns the basis of division into subgenera ; Mr. J. E. Gray and Dr. Sundevall have pointed out some other external distinc- tions which they believe more characteristic of genera and species than modifications in the form of the skull, teeth, and horns, as they are not changed by age, and are evident in both sexes. These are the form and extent of the muffle, and the metatarsal hair-covered glands on the hind legs. In the " Annals and Maga- zine of Natural History " (London, vol. ix., 1852, p. 413) is a paper by Mr. Gray, which presents a good synopsis of the varieties of deer. He divides them as follows: I. Those of snowy regions, with broad muzzle entirely covered with hair, expanded and palmated horns, short tail, and their fawns not spotted ; containing (a) the alcine deer, with no basal anterior snag to the horns, and a small bald muffle between the nostrils, as in the genus alces, the elk or moose; (5) the rangerine deer, with a large basal anterior snag, close to the crown or burr, and no muffle, as in tarandus, the reindeer. II. Those of temperate and warm regions, with a tapering muzzle ending in a bald muffle ; the fawns, and sometimes the adults, spotted ; con- taining (c) the elaphine deer, with an anterior basal snag, the muffle broad and separated from the lip by a hairy band, and the tuft of hair on the outside of the hind leg above the middle of the metatarsus, as in cervus, the stag, and dama, the fallow deer ; (d) the rusine deer, with an anterior basal snag, the muffle very high and not separated from the edge of the lip, and the metatarsal tuft as in the last division, as in the genera panolia, rucervus, rusa, axis, hyelaphus, and cervulus; (e) the capreoline deer, with no basal anterior snag, the first branch being at some distance above the burr, the sub orbital fossa generally small, as in the genera capreolus (roebuck), furcifer, blastocerus, cariacw (American deer), and coas- 8us (the brocket). The first and second of these divisions are confined to the northern parts of both continents ; the third to Europe and Asia, with the exception of the wapiti of North America; the fourth to the warm re- gions of Asia ; the fifth to America, except the roebuck of Europe, and the ahu of central Asia. The alcine deer will be described in the article ELK, and the elaphine under STAG ; the rangerine have been described under CABIBOF. Of the rusine group, or samboos, confined to southeastern Asia and its islands, the first genus in order is panolia (Gray), and the spe- cies sungnai deer (P. Eldii, Gray) ; in this genus the round horns curve backward and outward, with the upper part bent in and forked, rather expanded on the inner edge; the yellowish brown fur rigid and flattened ; a large, oblong, and deep suborbital pit, with the nasal bones short, broad, and dilated behind ; the frontal snag sometimes has a tubercle or branch at the base. In the genus rucervus (Hodgson), the horns are cylindrical, repeatedly forked at the tip ; the tail short and thick, a well developed tear bag, broad rounded ears covered with hair, and narrow compressed hoofs ; the fur is soft, with indistinct spots, and without pale tint on the rump ; the face is long and narrow, the opening of the nose large, and the suborbital pit shallow. The species is the bahraiya deer (7?. Duvaucelliij Cuv.), of a yellowish brown color on the tips of the black hairs ; an indis- tinct dark streak on the back, with a row of white spots on each side ; hair of neck, throat, chest, and belly longer, with scattered grayish hairs ; muzzle and front of leg dark ; chin white ; fur in winter dark brown. In the genus rusa (H. Smith) the horns are on a moderately long peduncle, and simply forked at the tip, with an anterior frontal snag close to the crown ; the hair is hard, rigid, and thick, elongated in the males of the larger species into a kind of mane on the neck; they have canine teeth. The black samboo deer (R. Aristotelis, Cuv.) is of a black- ish brown color, with the feet, vent, and spot over the eye fulvous; tail brown, with dark tip ; the skull is about 17 in. long, with a very deep triangular suborbital pit: a large and beautiful animal, inhabiting India and Ceylon. The Malayan samboo (R. equinus, Cuv.) is plain brown, with a rounded, floccose, black- tipped tail ; this inhabits Sumatra and Borneo, and is the eland or elk of the Dutch sports- men. The Javan rusa (R. hippelaphus, Cuv.) is remarkable for its ample mane, giving it a resemblance to a horse, whence its specific name; its color is dull brown, and the hair thick, dry, and frizzled ; it stands more than 3 ft. high at the shoulders ; it inhabits Java. The smaller rusas have no manes, and the elongated peduncles of the horns are covered with hair. The genus axis (H. Smith) is characterized by horns similar to those of rusa, but more slen- der, by the absence of canines and mane, by