ABSENCE OF EXTINCT SPECIES. 211 



M. de Quatrefages* considers all our domestic oxen to be 

 descendants of the urus ; while Mr. Darwin-f regards B. longi- 

 frons and B. frontosus as the modern representatives of wild 

 ancestors, specifically distinct from B. primigenius ; and con- 

 cludes therefore that our "domestic cattle are almost certainly 

 the descendants of more than one wild form/' 



Mr. Boyd DawkinsJ has shown that, as far as this country 

 is concerned, we have no conclusive evidence of more than 

 two species of wild oxen, namely, the urus and the bison. 

 The smaller varieties appear to have been introduced as 

 domesticated animals, and probably do not go back beyond 

 the Neolithic period. According to Nilsson, on the contrary, 

 both the Bos frontosus and B. longifrons inhabited Sweden 

 as wild races. My own impression is that the urus was 

 domesticated in Europe; but also that some at least of the 

 early settlers brought domestic cattle with them, which may 

 very probably have belonged to a distinct wild race. Further 

 evidence, however, is much needed on this interesting subject. 



Making allowance then for the marine animals, such as 

 seals, fish, oysters, cockles, whelks, etc., which we could not 

 expect to find so far away from the sea, the fauna indicated 

 by the remains found in the Swiss lakes agrees remarkably 

 with that which characterizes the Danish Kjb'kkenmoddings, 

 so far as wild animals are concerned, and belongs evidently 



o </ 



to a far later age than that of the celebrated stone hatchets, 

 which were first made known to us by the genius and perse- 

 verance of M. Boucher de Perthes. 



Instead of the elephant and rhinoceros, we find in the Neo- 

 lithic or second Stone period in that, namely, of the Kjok- 

 kenmoddings and " Pfahlbauten " the urus and bison, the 



* Eev. des Cours Scientitiques, J Boyd Dawkins, Geol. Jour. 



1868, p. 563. 1867, p. 182. 



t Animals and Plants under Ann. and Mag. of Nat. His. 



Domestication, vol. i. p. 81. 1849, pp. 349351. 



P 2 



