THE BANTIN OR TSAINE 447 
Head of Tsaine or Burmese Bantin. From a specimen shot by 
Lieut.-Col. H. D’U. Keary. 
The BANTIN or TSAINE (Bos [Bibos] sondaicus). 
This member of the gaur group departs somewhat less widely from 
the normal type of cattle than does the gaur, the ridge on the withers 
being less developed, and the horns almost cylindrical. The cows are 
always reddish coloured, although the bulls may be black, and in the 
latter sex at least there is always a large white patch on the rump. 
Very distinctive of the species is the presence of a horny shield on 
the crown of the head connecting the bases of the horns. Height at 
shoulder about 5 feet 9 inches. The humped cattle of India are 
probably domesticated derivatives of the bantin. 
Distribution —Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Siam, Borneo, Java, Bali, 
and perhaps Sumatra. At least two distinct races of the bantin 
are distinguishable. First, the true bantin, or Java ox (B. sondaicus 
typicus), from Java, and perhaps some of the other Malay islands 
and the Peninsula. In this race the old bulls become of a deep 
blackish-brown colour. The same tint is characteristic of the old 
male bantin in Borneo, but the horns are directed more uprightly. 
The second well-defined race is the tsaine (B. sondaicus birmanicus), 
which inhabits Burma, and may extend northwards to Manipur. 
