H E A D S O F M E G A C E R O S H IB E R N ICU S , SH OW IN G V A R IO U S
T Y P E S
F ig. i .— Skull and antlers from Loch Gur, County Limerick.— T h e right antler
is unusually bifurcated. Heads o f this type o f abnormal horn-growth rarely occur.
A head very similar to this one was unearthed in 1895, whilst another, with long
frontal tines, was discovered some years previously. These came from the same
locality as the first.
F ig. 2.— This remarkable head, with the complete skeleton, was presented to the
Royal Dublin Society by Archdeacon Maunsell in 1824. It is by far the best in their
Museum, which contains some fifty others. Besides being a head which has required
little restoration, it is remarkable for its great weight (skull and antlers 87 lbs.), the
extraordinary width of the palms (22J inches), and the fact that the sur-antlers are
double pointed. What this great head has gained in weight o f horn and palmation
is slightly lost in general elegance o f form and span. Length o f the right antler along
outside curve is 5 feet 9 inches.
F ig. 3;_This head, from County Waterford, is in direct contrast to F ig. 2.
T h e horn-growth on the skull of a fine adult animal has distributed itself into long
elegant points, which, combined with good span, have taken away to a certain degree
from the breadth of the palm. T h e measurements o f this head are as follows: Spread
(tip to tip), 9 feet 4 inches ; length round inside o f horn, 6 feet (right horn), left
horn, 5 feet 8 inches; circumference above burr, i o j inches; width o f palm, 17 I
inches; points 13 + 10 . - In the possession o f J. G . Millais.
F ig. 4.— Skull and antlers o f a very old stag, evidently “ going back,” pojnts
clubbed and weak and not fully developed. In possession o f Sir E. Loder. Span,
widest, 6 feet 8 inches. Limerick.