356 HISTORICAL PALZZONTOLOGY. 
latter is the “ Urus” or Wild Bull (Bos primigenius, fig. 265), 
which, though much larger than any of the existing forms, is 
Fig. 265.—Skull of the Urus (Bos primigenius). Post-Pliocene and Recent. 
(After Owen.) 
believed to be specifically undistinguishable from the domes- 
tic Ox (Bos taurus), and to be possibly the ancestor of some 
of the larger European varieties of oxen. In the earlier part 
of its existence the Urus ranged over Europe and Britain in 
company with the Woolly Rhinoceros and the Mammoth; but 
it long survived these, and does not appear to have been 
finally exterminated till about the twelfth century. Another 
remarkable member of the Post-Phocene Cattle, also to be- 
gin with an associate of the Mammoth and Rhinoceros, is 
the European Bison or “ Aurochs” (Lzson priscus). This 
“maned” ox formerly abounded in Europe in Post-Glacial 
times, and was not rare even in the later periods of the 
Roman empire, though much diminished in numbers, and 
driven back into the wilder and more inaccessible parts of the 
country. At present this fine species has been so nearly 
exterminated that it no longer exists in Europe save in 
Lithuania, where its preservation has been secured by ngid 
protective laws. Lastly, the Post- Pliocene deposits have 
yielded the remains of the singular living animal which is 
known as the Musk-ox or Musk-sheep (Ovibos moschatus). 
At the present day, the Musk-ox is an inhabitant of the 
“barren grounds” of Arctic America, and it is remarkable for 
the great length of its hair. It is, like the Reindeer, a dis- 
