66 Oxen 



Bison honcistis^ Flower and Garson, Cat. OstcoJ. Miis. Coll. Surg. pt. ii. 

 p. 232 (1884) ' Buchner, Me///. Acad. St. Pctcrshoui-g, ser. S, vol. iii. No. 2 

 (1896) ; Westberg, Festsch/'ift Fez: Riga, 1896, p. 267. 



Cliai-acte/'s. — Height at shoulder 6 feet i inch to 6 feet 2 inches. 

 Horns relatively long and slender, curving upwards, forwards, and inwards, 

 set well forward on the h)rehead, which is coniparativelv dat and broad. 

 Hind-quarters relatively high ; pasterns long ; tail reaching to the hocks, 

 or below. Mane of bull in summer pelage curly and of moderate length 

 and not extending very far back on the bodv, leaving the heavily fringed 

 ears quite distinct, and forming a longer and thicker mass on the head, 

 neck, throat, and the middle line of the chest. In the cow contined to 

 the nape ot the neck, f-oreheatl, and middle of lower part of face, throat, 

 and median line of the chest. General colour uniform chestnut-brown 

 throughout, without perceptibly darkening on the mane. In the skeleton 

 the neural spine of the seventh cervical vertebra moderately elevated, and 

 that of the sixth inclinetl forwards. 



The above description is taken from four mounted specimens in the 

 British Museum — namelv, an atlult bull from Lithuania presented bv the 

 Emperor of Russia about the vear i 848, a younger Lithuanian bull, and 

 a bull and cow from the Caucasus presented by Mr. St. George Littlcdale. 

 Between the Lithuanian and Caucasian examples there appear to be no 

 difJ^erences even of sub-specific \alue. It is true that the large Lithuanian 

 bull is consitlerablv taller than the Caucasian specimen ami has a shorter 

 tail, l)ut the former difference mav be partly exaggerated in the mounting, 

 and the latter seems due to imperfection ; the smaller Lithuanian hull, 

 which is mounted in a lying-down posture, having the tail of apparently 

 the same approximate length as in the Caucasian examples. In both the 

 latter the otherwise black hoofs have yellowish-brown margins, which are 

 not apparent in the Lithuanian specimens, but this may be due to the 

 hoofs being less worn in the former than in the latter. 



