OMASAL ANATOMY IN NEW-ZEALAND RED AND FALLOW DEER - AN EXPLORATORY MULTIVARIATE-ANALYSIS

We measured the weight and volume of omasae, and the number, weight an d area of omasal laminae from wild fallow (Cervus dama), and wild and farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) whose diet, as indicated by rumen con tent, was known. A multivariate analysis yielded two principal compone nts, interpreted as indices of overall omasal size and laminar leafine ss. The second component showed significantly greater variance in wild red deer than in farmed red or wild fallow deer. Deer feeding on a mi xed diet of browse and grasses may have greater variability of omasal form than those feeding on glass alone. A relationship is derived by w hich the laminar area can be estimated from counts of laminae in diffe rent size classes.