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How are bovids different from deer?
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bovid
American bison, or plains buffalo (Bison bison).
Bovids (family Bovidae) and deer (family Cervidae) are both hoofed mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla, but they are distinguished primarily by their head ornamentation.1
The key differences include:
- Horns vs. Antlers: Bovids possess horns that consist of a keratinous sheath covering a bony core, which grows from the skull's frontal bones. These horns are never shed and do not branch. In contrast, deer grow antlers, which are typically branched and are shed and regrown annually.1
- Presence: While male bovids of all species possess horns, females of about two-thirds of bovid species also grow them. Antlers are generally restricted to males in most deer species, with the notable exception of reindeer.1
While both groups are ruminants with specialized stomachs for plant digestion, these structural differences in headgear serve as the primary biological distinction between the two families.12