As regards their distinctive features, the antlers are of a complex type and situated close to the occipital ridge of the skull, and thus far away from the sockets of the eyes, with the brow-tines in adult males palmated, laterally compressed, deflected towards the middle of the face, and often unsymmetrically developed.
Above the brow-tine is developed a second palmated tine, which appears to represent the bez-tine of the red-deer; there is no trez-tine, but some distance above the bez the beam is suddenly bent forward to form an "elbow," on the posterior side of which is usually a short back-tine; above the back-tine the beam is continued for some distance to terminate in a large expansion or palmation.
It is a smaller animal than the American woodland race, with antlers approximating to those of the barren-ground race, but less elongated, and with a distinct back-tine in the male, the brow-tines moderately palmated and frequently nearly symmetrical, and the bez-tine not excessively expanded..
Although a few living species have the antlers in the form of simple spikes in the adult male, in the great majority of species they are more or less branched; while in some, like the elk and fallow-deer, they expand into broad palmated plates, with tines, or snags, on one or both margins.
The antlers are greatly palmated and of enormous size, fine specimens measuring as much as 11 ft.