ii6 Game of Europe, W. & N. Asia Sc America 



latter animal by sportsmen. In Russia the name zubr is the native title 

 ol the bison. 



It will be evident trom the foregoing remarks that there is no justifica- 

 tion tor ever using the terms aurochs in connection with the present 

 animal, whose proper title is bison, piir cxcc/lcticw In order, however, to 

 distinguish it from its American relative it is frequently convenient to 

 spealc of it as the European bison. 



The nearest existing relative of the two living species of bison appears 

 to be the yak of Tibet, ^ which, among other features, is readily dis- 

 tinguishable, at least in the wild condition, by the sable hue of its coat 

 and the great amount of long hair clothing tlie tail and the whole of the 

 flanks. 



In the true bison, on the other hand, the colour is some shade of brown, 

 the long hair on the tail is only of moderate amount and may be restricted 

 to its extremity, and the long hair on the body is developed only on the 

 lore-quarters, and in the European species chiefly on the forehead, chin, 

 throat, and chest. The hair all over the body is, however, of considerable 

 length in the winter coat, and in the European species frequently displays 

 a more or less marked tendency to curl. But a more important feature of 

 the true bisons is to be found in the great relative height of the withers, 

 and the presence of fourteen pairs of ribs in the skeleton. The horns, 

 too, which are cylindrical in form, are peculiar in growing from a ridge 

 situated below the extreme vertex of the skull, so that in a front view of 

 the latter the summit of the crest of the true occiput is visible. Tlie 

 sockets of the eyes, which are placed comparatively close to the horns, are 

 likewise remarkable for their tubular form ; and the nasal bones are 

 noticeable for their relative shortness. Again, the frontal region of the 

 skull of a bison is characterised by its great width and shortness. In 

 all the foregoing respects a bison's skull differs very markedly from that 



' Sec Great und Small Game of India, etc., and Wild Oxen, Sleep, and Goats of all Lands. 



