The Deer are absolutely distinguished from all other Ruminant animals by the existence of antlers, which are invariably present in the male sex, save in the aberrant genera _Moschus_ and _Hydropotes_; in the Reindeer alone are antlers present in both sexes. The general characters of these appendages have been dealt with on a former page (p. 200), where they are compared to, or rather contrasted with, the horns of the Bovidae. These antlers, so characteristic of the Cervidae, are very variously developed among the members of the family. Thus in _Elaphodus_ the antlers are very small and entirely unbranched. In the Muntjacs, _Cervulus_, the antlers are hardly larger, but they have a small anterior branch arising from near the pedicel, the "brow tine." In _Cariacus antisiensis_ only one branch, the brow tine, is present, but it is nearly as long as the main stem of the antler, the "beam." In _Capreolus capraea_ the beam bears two tines; in _Cervus sika_ three; in _C. duvauceli_ two of the three tines present bear secondary branches. There are other complications (some of which are illustrated in Figs. 152-157) of the simple antler which culminate in the complex antlers with their expanded "palms" of the Elk and the Fallow Deer. {292} Another highly-interesting fact concerning these same antlers is their gradual increase in complexity of tines and palm from the Miocene _Cervus matheroni_ to the great Irish Elk of post-Tertiary times. Beyond the antlers there seems to be no character of universal applicability which distinguishes the Cervidae from the nearly-related Antelopes. There are, however, a number of structural features which are _nearly_ universally characteristic. Excepting _Moschus_ (which Professor Garrod would not allow to be a "Deer"), no Cervine has a gall-bladder[198] to its liver. All Bovidae (including Antelopes) have, with the exception of _Cephalophus_. A small but constant character of the Deer is the existence of two orifices to the lachrymal duct. The genus _Tragelaphus_ alone among Antelopes shows this character. So far as is known the placenta of the Deer has but few cotyledons, that of the Bovidae many. But not many types are known. The navicular, cuboid and ectocuneiform are often united. This is never the case in the Bovidae. The first and second phalanges of the lateral (imperfectly developed) digits are always present except in the Muntjacs; they are never found in Bovidae. The Deer always present a light brown to a darker brown coloration. _Elaphodus michianus_ is almost black. There is commonly white on the under parts and beneath the short tail. Some Deer, such as the Fallow Deer, are spotted; and the young of others that are uniformly coloured when adult are spotted. In some cases a winter coat, darker than the summer coat, is developed.