ROOM IV. BOS PRIMIGENIUS. 391 



the alluvial deposits near Athol, in Perthshire. It is figured 

 and described in " British Fossil Mammals," l and I would refer 

 the scientific inquirer to that work for a full exposition of 

 its character and specific affinities : a brief notice will here 

 suffice. " The concave forehead with its slight median longi- 

 tudinal ridge, the origin of the horns at the extremities of 

 the sharp crest which divides the frontal from the occipital 

 regions, the acute angle at which these two surfaces of the 

 cranium meet to form the above ridge, all identify this 

 specimen with the Bos primigenius described by Cuvier, 

 Bojanus, and Fremery." 2 



This skull is one yard long, and the span of the horns 

 three feet six inches. The breadth of the forehead between 

 the horns is lO? inches. 



The remains of this gigantic Ox are not uncommon in the 

 alluvial deposits of Scotland; as my friend Dr. Fleming, the 

 distinguished Professor of Zoology in the New College of Edin- 

 burgh, pointed out 25 years ago. 3 In England similar remains 

 have been found in many localities ; but this species appears 

 to have been more abundant in Scotland down to a compara- 

 tively recent period ; and therefore it may be concluded that 

 the os primigenius maintained its ground longest in Scot- 

 laud, before its final extinction.* 



The remains of this species have been found in British 

 tumuli, and also among the rejectamenta of Roman encamp- 

 ments. This large species of Ox, and its contemporary the 

 Auroch, above described, doubtless inhabited these Islands, 

 and the Continent of Europe, when the aboriginal human 

 tribes first took possession of the land ; and both have gra- 

 dually become extinct. 



Cuvier, and other eminent naturalists, regard this species as 

 the origin of our domestic cattle ; but Professor Owen is of 

 opinion that the evidence is in favour of our herds being the 



1 " Brit. Foss. Mammals," p. 498. 



2 Ibid. p. 501. 



3 " British Animals," Edinburgh, 1828, p. 24. 



* An almost entire skeleton of the Bos primigenius was obtained 

 from the alluvial deposit overlying the London clay at Herne Bay, and 

 is now in the collection of Mr. Wickham Flower. The length of each 

 horn-core in this specimen is 3 feet 3 inches along the outer curve : and 

 the circumference at the base 18| inches. See "Brit. Assoc. Rep." 

 1843, p. 233. 



