The bovids (family Bovidae) comprise some 140 species of ruminants in which at least the males bear unbranched, hollow horns covered in a permanent sheath of keratin. Most species of bovids have means of spacing themselves across their habitat; territorial behavior is the most consistent type of spacing behavior.
Caprids (dwarf antelope, such as the sheep, goats, muskox, serows, gorals, and several similar species) use their preorbital glands to establish social rank. For example, when competition arises between two grazing sheep (Ovis aries), they have been observed to nuzzle each other's preorbital glands. By sending and receiving olfactory cues, this behavior appears to be a means of establishing dominance and of avoiding a fight, which would otherwise involve potentially injurious butting or clashing with the forehead.
The antilopine bovids (dwarf antelope, such as the springbok, blackbuck, gazelles, dik-diks, oribi, and several similar species) have well-developed preorbital glands.
Among the cephalophines, members of the Philantomba and Sylvicapra genera are all solitary animals which display territorial behavior and have well developed preorbital glands. Maxwells duiker (Philantomba maxwellii') is a solitary animal which utilizes preorbital gland secretions to mark its territory. This behavior is observed most in adult males, less frequently in females, and less still in subadults of this species. Secretions from the preorbital gland of the common duiker contain at least 33 different chemical compounds. Two thiazole compounds and an epoxy ketone are present in significantly higher concentrations in male than in female secretions, suggesting that they could serve as sex recognition cues.
The alcephine bovids (wildebeests, hartebeests, hirola, bontebok, blesbok, and several similar species) have preorbital glands which secrete complex mixtures of chemical compounds. The preorbital glands of the bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygarus) are larger in males than in females. Their secretions contain at least forty different chemical compounds, and are deposited on grass and twigs at the borders of their territory. They then appear to transfer the secretions from the grass to their horns and forehead by waving the head from side to side across the stalk bearing the secretion. Marking of plant stalks with preorbital gland secretions is seen in both sexes. In contrast to the duikers and raphicerids, the klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) is a semi-gregarious species, while the hirola (Beatragus hunteri) is fully gregarious. Nevertheless, these animals display territorial scent marking of grasses with secretions from their preorbital glands.
Differences in the social structure and marking behavior among different species may lead to a different size and position of the preorbital glands on the animals face. For example, Günthers dik-dik (Madoqua guentheri) is a monogamous species of antelope that lives in a permanent territory, the boundaries of which the animals mark several times a day by actively pressing the preorbital glands to grasses and low-lying plants and applying the secretions. In this territorial animal, the preorbital glands remain of considerable size throughout the year. The glands are located in large preorbital pits in the lacrimal bone, and are surrounded by specialized facial muscles that compress them to express the secretions more effectively. In contrast, the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) is a polygamous and somewhat nomadic species which does not occupy any permanent territory at any time during the year. For most of the year the preorbital glands remain small, only growing to substantial size during the rut. At that time of year, secretions ooze more or less continuously from the glands. In this nonterritorial animal, the preorbital glands are not as well-developed, lack well-developed surrounding facial muscles, and are positioned in an inconspicuous and shallow depression of the lacrimal bone.