General Zoological Changes. 241 



which, until lately, has been unjustly considered as the origi- 

 nal stock of our tame horned cattle, (Bos taurus). Linnaeus, 

 in accordance with that view, called it Bos ferus ; Buffon, 

 quite confident in the same opinion, Bos urus ; which name 

 has been received by most subsequent writers. The specific 

 difference of the zubr and Bos taurus is now, however, suffi- 

 ciently established by comparative anatomy. But a very im- 

 portant point is still left uncertain, namely, whether the zubr 

 be the only native bovine animal of middle Europe, in which 

 case it would be the legitimate owner of the synonymes, Bi- 

 son, Urus, Auerochs, Thur, &c. ; or whether two such abori- 

 ginal species were, within the historical times, found in that 

 tract of country. Cuvier, in his 'Recherches sur les Osse- 

 mens Fossiles,' tome iv. p. 107, &c. had raised the opinion, 

 that the Bison and Urus of the ancients were distinct species, 

 to a high degree of probability; but Bojanus, in reviewing 

 the evidence on which Cuvier had endeavoured to establish 

 his conclusion, arrived at the contrary view, thus leaving the 

 field open to fresh enquiry ; and though I have not the pre- 

 sumption to think that I shall decide the point effectually, 

 yet by attempting a new revision of the evidence already be- 

 fore the public, as well as of that which has escaped both 

 Cuvier and Bojanus, I may hope that even the errors into 

 which I may fall, may give a new impulse to others towards 

 completing what I consider to be a most interesting and de- 

 sirable task. 



In reviewing the indigested mass of heterogeneous infor- 

 mation on animals belonging to the bovine genus, as depo- 

 sited in the ancient works of Greek and Latin writers, we find 

 ourselves compelled to admit, that they are much more agreed 

 about the characters of the Sphinx, Chimaera, sirens, Lamia, 

 Cerberus, &c. than upon those of the real creatures here un- 

 der consideration. The various materials there found, may, 

 however, be arranged under three different heads. First; 

 statements which evidently rest upon one animal having been 

 mistaken for another : secondly ; such as depend on the an- 

 cients referring the facts they observed, to false and often ri- 

 diculous causes, whereby they ascribed to the animals a great 

 many intentions which did not exist, as well as habits or 

 forms which led to the reception of fabulous species : third- 

 ly ; the facts which they had really observed with sufficient 

 precision. By separating the materials of the two first class- 

 es, as well as the palpable exaggerations, from those of the 

 third, we may hope to arrive at the truth, in cases where the 

 distinction of the materials is possible, and the description of 

 the animals not too defective. 



x2 



