THE ANTELOPES AND OXEN. 187 



the north southwards, to central and to one part of 

 South America, could attain any comparatively high 

 development of civil life ; and this was owing to the 

 more favourable climatic circumstances, and to 

 various species of llamas having been made use of 

 as domestic animals. 



The introduction of oxen and of horses from 

 Europe was the beginning of the end of the Ameri- 

 can bison. The bison has found its biographer in 

 Professor Allen, 1 who has clearly pointed out its 

 relation to the Diluvial races ; and as regards this 

 relation Allen arrives at a somewhat different con- 

 clusion to what Rutimeyer* does. The earliest form 

 is the gigantic Bison latifrons from the Diluvial strata 

 of North America, where also are found the remains 

 of mastodon, megalonyx, mylodon, and others. It 

 produced species (races?) not very different from 

 one another, the Bison antiquus of the New World, 

 and the B. priscus of the Old World. The latter 

 is the progenitor of the Europe-Asiatic urus or 

 wild bull ; the Bison antiquus, which lived contem- 

 poraneously with the Elephas primigenius, is the 

 progenitor of the Bison americanus. 



It is very probable, as already remarked, that 



1 Allen, The American Bison. Cambridge, Mass., 1876, 



2 See above, p. 178. 



