Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/81

* DEEP-SEA EXPLORATION. 61 DEER. Some of the deep-sea animals are blind. Those that have eyes probably capture their prey by the phosphorescent liglit shed from their own bodies and the bodies of the vast number of other creatures that are constantly Hashing their faint lamps over the ocean floor. Fishes of the greatest depths have the smallest eyes, while those of mod- erate deptlis have very large eyes, as, for in- stance, those of the JIacrurus type. Many of them have highly developed organs of touch. Some of the fishes have enormous jaws, much larger proportionately than are found among shallow -water forms. Their teeth also are more formidable. See JIacrubus and Plate of Codfish AND Allies. Size. All the animals that have so far been brought up from deep water have been taken in dredges of moderate size, so small, in fact, that they are only capable of taking small animals, the largest specimens of fishes seldom exceeding four or five feet in length. It is quite possible that by using larger dredges larger animals could be taken. Conclusion and Bibliography. It -svill be seen from the foregoing that the fauna of the depths lives under such extraordinary conditions as temperature close to the freezing-point, pres- sure amounting to a ton to the square inch for each 1000 fathoms of depth, and darlinesa (xcept for light due to phosphorescence. Consult: ihomaon, Dcjiths of Ihe Hea (London, 1873); Wild, Tlialassd (London, 1874); Re- jiorls and ynrralires of the Vhullengcr Expedi- tion (see Challenger Expedition) ; A. Agassiz, Three Cruises of the 'Blake' (Boston, 1888) ; an- nual liejiorts. Bulletins, etc., of the United States Fish Commission (Washington, 1872 onward) ; Bulletins and Memoirs of the Museum of Com- parative Zoology (Cambridge, 1875 onward) ; Tanner, Deep-Sea Exploration (Washington, 1897) ; Townsend. Records and Bibliography of the 'Alhatross' (Washington, 1901). DEEP-SEA FLOUNDER. A name given lo- cally in the North Atlantic States to both the plaice and the pole-flounder (qq.v.). DEEP-WATER SCtTLTIN. See Sea-Raton. DEEP-WATER TROtTT. See Squeteague. DEEP-WATER WHITING. See Whiting. DEER (AS. deor, wild beast, animal, Ger. 1'hicr, animal, Goth, dins, wild beast; cf. AS. deor, bold, OHG. tiorllh, wild). The popular name for even-toed, hoofed mammals of the fam- ily Cervidte and subfamily Ccrvinje. The musk (_q.v.), usually called musk-deer, forms a dis- tinct subfamily, which is sometimes accorded full family rank. Jlore than fifty species of deer nre known, occurring in all parts of the world except Australia and southeni Africa. South- eastern Asia especially abounds with them, some of the largest as well as many of the smallest residing there. Only two species of deer dwell in the whole continent of Africa, and both of these are near relatives of European species and occur only in the northern parts of the continent. In North America there are perhaps eight or ten species of deer, wliile Central and South America possess a much larger number. Deer are characterized by the absence of a gall- bladder and the possession of upper canines, lat- era] dinitg on both fore and hind feet, a remark- able suborbital sinus or tear-pit below each eye. and antlers. Antlers are the most noticeable of these characters, though they are usually present only in the male. The female reindeer has ant- lers and individual females of other species some- times have small ones. Antlers (q.v.) are out- growths of bone, which are covered with a thin, highly vascular hairy skin during their growth, but when this is comjjleted the bloodsuiiply is cut off, and the skin, or 'velvet,' as it is called, dries up and is peeled otT, leaving the bone bare. Antlei-s are renewed annually, the fully formed pair becoming detached from the 'pedicels' on which they were developed, and a new pair aris- ing at the same place. Antlers are usually slied soon after the close of the breeding season. An antler may be straight and unbranched, but usually there are branches, called tines or snugs. The number of these increases with age, so that the most handsomely developed antlers are found only on fully matured males. The antler and its branches are generally more or less cylindrical or terete, but in some cases they are veiy much expanded and flattened, and the antler is then called 'palmaited.' Deer are animals of veiy graceful form, com- bining eom])actness and strength with slenderness of limb and fleetness. They have for nianj' cen- turies been renowned as objects of the chase, and the flesh of many species is highly esteemed for food, under the name 'venison,' The best-known species, which may serve as an example of the group, is the European red deer ( Census elaphus), the adult male of which is the 'stag,' and the female is the 'hind.' The former is some- times nearly seven feet long and over four feet in height, but the hind is much smaller. The body is covered by a double coat of fine wool and longer, coar.se hairs, the latter longest on throat and chest. The wool is brownish-gray, and as it is longest and most al)undant in winter, the sum- mer coat is brighter-colored and smoother. The young are spotted with white. The antlers are at first unbranched and only show the number of tines characteristic of the adult in the fifth year, and it is not until then that the young male is dignified with the name stag. An old stag is called a 'hart.' The hinds and young stags are usually found together in large herds, but the older stags occur in smaller groups, while harts are generally found alone. The feeding time is during the evening and at night. The food varies with the season ; in winter it is chiefly lichens, moss, bark, and buds, while in summer leaves and hexbs form most of the diet. Stags are said to eat only fungi during the breeding season. The red deer occurs in all parts of Europe and in northern and western Asia. It is exterminaled as a wild animal in pojiulous districts, but is presen'cd as an object of the chase, or as a semi- domesticated pet, in all parts of western Europe, though not so common in Great Britain as the fallow deer. It is exceptionally swift of foot and an excellent swimmer, and all of the senses are marvelously acute. The hinds and fawns are gentle and can l)e tamed as pets, but the stags are unlnistorthy and become quite dangerous during the breeding season. The American deer {Cariacus or Odocoilcus Virginianus) is considerably smaller than the stag, but resembles it in many of its habits. It is found throughout the eastern T'nited States, r.anging northward into southern Canada, west to the Missouri, and south to Florida and Texas.