Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/762

 758 DEER an elongated tail, and by the smaller size ; the hair is thick, polished, fulvous, with beautiful white spots at all seasons ; the face is long and narrow, the ears large and acute, the legs long Spotted Axis (A. maculate). and slender; the suborbital pit is small but deep. The spotted axis (A. maculata, Gray) has a black streak on the back edged with a series of white spots; on the sides is an oblique curved line of similar spots,, and a short ob- lique white streak across the haunches; in size and markings it resembles the fallow deer, but its horns are quite different, being desti- tute of palmations. This species is abundant in Bengal, and is frequently hunted; it fre- quents thick jungles near water, feeds during the night, and is very timorous except in the breeding season ; it is easily tamed, and in cap- tivity is very nice in tasting its food; the height is about 2 ft. at the shoulders. The genus Tiyelaphus (Sundev.), which includes the hog deer, resembles axis, but is lower on the legs, and has no black dorsal streak, nor white streak on the haunches ; the ears are short and round.- The porcine deer (JET. porcinus, Zim- merm.) is of a yellowish brown color, with ob- scure whitish spots, the front of face and legs darker, and white on the inside of the thighs ; it inhabits the jungles of India, and, notwith- standing its thick and clumsy appearance, is a very active animal; the tail is bushy, and often carried erect. The genus cervulus (De Blainv.), the last of the rusine division, inhabit- ing eastern Asia, will be described in the article MUNTJAC. Of the capreoline deer, the ge- nus capreolus (H. Smith), containing the Eu- ropean roebuck and the Siberian aim, will be described in the article ROEBUCK. The genus furcifer (Wagn. and Sundev.) has the horns erect, forked, without any basal snag, acute narrow ears, and a short tail ; the hair is thick, brittle, and waved; there is a distinct pencil of hairs on the inside of the hock, but none on the outer side of the metatarsus (in which it differs from capreolus). The taruga (F. Anti- siensis, D'Orbigny) is of a yellowish gray color, with the edge of the muffle and throat white ; face with a brown streak, and a band between the eyes ; hoofs broad ; it inhabits the moun- tains of Bolivia, and the east coast of South America. The gemul (F. huamel, H. Smith) is darker colored, with the inside of the ears white; this species, considerably larger than the roebuck, inhabits the mountains of eastern South America and Patagonia. The genus llas- tocerus (Wagn. and Sundev.) has horns straight, erect, three-branched, without basal snag ; a very short tail and large ears; hair very thin and soft, the tuft on legs as in furcifer. The guazupuco deer (JB. paludosm, Desm.) is nearly as large as the stag ; the generalcolor is fulvous, but the inside of the ears and limbs and the lower parts of the breast are white ; the face marks and feet are blackish, and the under sur- face of the tail white ; it inhabits Brazil and Paraguay. The guazuti deer (J9. campestris, Licht.) is much smaller than the last, standing about 2|- ft. high at the shoulders ; the horns are more slender, and about a foot long, gen- Guazupuco Deer (Blastocerus paludosus). erally with two snags ; the color is fulvous brown ; the hairs of the nape and back re- versed ; the hoofs are narrow. This beautiful animal inhabits the open plains of Patagonia, and is so swift of foot that, according to Azara, a horse cannot overtake it; the flesh of the young is delicate, but that of the adult strongly flavored. The genus cariacus (Gray), which contains our common deer, has the horns cy- lindrical, tending to flatten, strongly bent back and then forward, with a central internal snag, the tip bent forward, and several lower branches on the hinder edge ; the hair is soft and thin, and the moderately long tail has long hair on the under side ; the ears are large and rounded; there is generally a tuft of white hair on the hind leg, rather below the middle of the metatarsus; the suborbital pit in the skull is shallow, and the nasal bones broad and subtriangnlar behind ; the hoofs are generally- narrow and elongated. The common Ameri- can deer (C. Virginianm, Penn.) has rather a long head and sharp muzzle, large and lus- trous eyes, and the lachrymal bags covered by