THE ANTELOPES AND OXEN. 179 



European oxen l have all, perhaps, to be traced back 

 to the Diluvial Urus, or wild bull (Bos primigenius), 

 and the races which branched off as early as the*. 

 Diluvial period. 2 If, in accordance with the above 

 standpoints, the skull of the domestic ox, of the bison, 

 the yak, and the Indo-European buffalo, be com- 

 pared with that of the antelope, it will be found that 

 the resemblance to the antelope will become more 

 and more apparent. Thus the bison (Fig. 28) is 

 still so like the ox that, as we shall see, it might 

 be doubted whether one of our races, the Dux 

 cattle of Eastern Tyrol, is to be traced back to the 

 wild bull or to the bison. On the other hand, the 

 Anoa of Celebes, which Riitimeyer calls the Probti- 

 balus celebensis, is indeed still an ox in all its out- 

 ward characteristics (' the dwarf of the ox family '), 

 but is a complete antelope as regards the position 

 of its frontal and parietal bones (Fig. 29). This 

 agreement in the outward parts must scientifically 



1 The three most important races of oxen which have to be 

 traced back to Bos primigenius are : 



Brachyceros race . . . Appenzell cattle 

 Primigenius race . . . Holland cattle 

 Frontosus race .... Bern cattle 



2 A good survey of the investigations and opinions as to the 

 origin of the domestic ox is given in Friihling's Landwirth- 

 schaftlicher Zeitung, Feb. 1878; Pagenstecher, Studien zuin 

 Ur sprung des Rimles. 



v 2 



