The Characters of Bison occidentalis, the 

 Fossil Bison of Kansas and Alaska."" 



BY F. A. LUCAS. 



Witb Plates VIII, IX. 



In studying the fossil bison of North America it has become 

 evident tliat the specimen from Kansas described as Bison anii- 

 qiius by Mr. Alban Stewart, is of a totally distinct species and 

 identical with a specimen from Fort Yukon, Alaska, collected by 

 Sir John Richardson, and now in the U. S. National Museum. 

 The name Bison occidentalis was proposed for this species in a 

 paper read before the Biological Society of Washington, and noted 

 in Science for Nov. ii, 1898, on page 678. As there described the 

 character's of the species, as indicated by the horn cores, are as fol- 

 lows: Horn cores of moderate size, although much larger than in 

 the existing species; circumference at base equal to, or slightly 

 greater than length along upper curve ; sub-C3dindrical in section 

 and regularly curved upward and backward; type No. 4047, U. S. 

 National Museum. The diagnosis of tiie species was based on the 

 horn cores, because in almost every fossil bison these are the only 

 parts available, and it was important to have the diagnosis of all 

 species founded on the same set of characters. The cranium from 

 Fort Yukon was taken as the tj^pe because it was the one actually 

 handled, although the specimen from Kansas is of course by far the 

 more complete example. 



As Bison occidentalis has been confused with Bison afitiquits a 

 comparison of the two is necessar}^ Bison antiquus was founded by 

 Dr. Leidv on an imperfect horn core from Big Bone Lick, Ken- 

 tucky, now in the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and 

 the name has since been applied to almost every specimen of fossil 

 bison that has come to light. An examination of the type of Bison 



*Iii this Quarterly of July, 18!)7, pp. 127-135. Mr. A. Stewart, of the department of 

 Faleontolosy. save a description of a nearly complete sUeleton from the valley of the 

 SnioUy Hill river in western Kansas, referred to B. (Uttiqum Leidy The able and 

 thorough studies of Mr. Lucas, on the Bisons of North America, have made it appa- 

 rent that 1 he species was really a new one. He has kindly sent the present article, 

 descriptive of it, for publication in the Quarterly.— S. W. Williston. 



(17) KAN. UNIV. QUAR., VOL. VIU, NO 1, JAN.. 1899, SERIES A- 



