General Zoological Changes. 249 



authors of the early period of the middle ages, who call the 

 wild ox of the Ardennes and the Vosgian mountains, " Bu- 

 balus" as Fortunatus,* whom Cuvier quotes in support of his 

 opinion ; but is there any proof or probability, that Martial 

 has used the expression Bubalus in the same sense as the au- 

 thor of such barbarous Latin verses as those of Fortunatus ? 

 The author of the 'Martyrdom of St. Genevieve' testifies, 

 however, that the animal called ' Bubalus ' by the writers of 

 that period, is the one which was called ' Urus? (Auer), in 

 Germany. 



In support of the opinion that the Urus was a distinct ani- 

 mal, and the original stock of our horned cattle, Cuvier like- 

 wise states, that the latter is still called Ur in several parts of 

 Switzerland. To this we might object, that within very mo- 

 dern times, the zubr was believed to be the species from which 

 our tame cattle had sprung; and if the zubr was also called 

 Auer or Ur by the nations of the Teutonic race, the above ap- 

 pellation of the tame ox in Switzerland is easily explained on 

 a different principle. As little have we to think of the real 

 Urus, at the expression of ' Uri J or i Uri sylvestresj which we 

 find in Virgil,f and which ought to be referred to common 

 bulls, enjoying comparative liberty of pasture, or grown half 

 wild ; or if even these be not deemed wild enough, to really 

 wild bovine animals of any species you like, as any would 

 suit the object of the poet. 



In my enquiry respecting the characters given by the 

 Greek and Roman writers, of the Bison and Urus, I have al- 

 so obtained quite a different result from that at which Cuvi- 

 er has arrived.^ It is a fact, that in the very few passages 

 where ancient authors mention the real Urus, which we may 



em, and that Sifrit slew also a lion on the same occasion, we may suppose 

 that the author cared less for realities, than for words conveying proper as- 

 sociations, and that he was glad to find two names for the same fierce animal. 

 * " Ardenna, an Vosagus, cervi, caprae, helices ursi 

 " Caede sagittifera silva fragore tonat, 

 " Seu validi buhali ferit inter cornua campum." 



Lib. vi. poem 4. 

 f " Tempore non alio dicunt regionibus illis 

 " Quaesitas ad sacra boves Junonis, et uris 

 " Imparibus ductos alta ad donaria currus." 



Virg. Georg. iii. 531 . 

 "Cui, super indignas hyemes, solemque potentem, 

 " Si/lvestres uri assidue capraeque sequaces 

 " Il'ludunt." Id. ii. 373. 



% l Recherches sur les Ossem. Foss.' t. iv. p. 112. " En comparent avec 

 soin les passages ou il en est question, on voit que le bison se distinguoit 

 par sa criniere laineuse, et l'urus par la grandeur de ses cornes." 



