The Descent of Man

now so advantageous, were the branched antlers
of the parent-form ever developed? To this
I can only answer by remarking, that a new
mode of attack with new weapons might be a
great advantage, as shewn by the case of the
Ovis cycloceros, who thus conquered a domestic
ram famous for his fighting power. Though
the branched antlers of a stag are well adapted
for fighting with his rivals, and though it might
be an advantage to the prong-horned variety
slowly to acquire long and branched horns, if
he had to fight only with others of the same
kind, yet it by no means follows that branched
horns would be the best fitted for conquering a
foe differently armed. In the foregoing case of
the Oryx leucoryx, it is almost certain that the
victory would rest with an antelope having
short horns, and who therefore did not need to
kneel down, though an oryx might profit by
having still longer horns, if he fought only with
his proper rivals.