258 BULLETIN NO. VII. 



In Egypt in ancient times three varieties were domesticated 

 which must certainly have been imported. Sheep and goats 

 seem to have sprung from some forms of antelope indeed the 

 musk ox may be said to be a transition between goats, ante- 

 lopes and the oxen. None of these are endemic in America 

 but we now have one representative of each in the Rocky 

 mountain goat, big-horn sheep, prong-horn antelope, and musk 

 ox. The bison seems to have been individualized in America 

 in the Pliocene and in Europe a form appeared in the Quarter- 

 nary which forms the direct transition to the present European 

 bison. 



The camels are of American origin. The genus Parameryx 

 appeared in Eocene and the peculiarities became more marked 

 in later forms. The llama once ranged over most of North 

 America. The camel appeared in Asia in the Miocene and 

 seems to have been introduced into Africa at a very early day. 



The primary sub-divisions of Artiodactyla are two: Poly- 

 dactyla, including the hippopotami and the swine and, the Bi- 

 dactyla or Euminantia (cud-chewers.) 



The first of these groups has, as we have seen, no repres- 

 entatives within our limits and the number of ruminants is very 

 small. At present four species of the family Cervidce are the 

 only members of the vast group of ungulates found in Minne- 

 sota. 



FAMILY BOVIDJE. 



GENUS BISON, SMITH. 



The two living species of this genus are, strangely enough, 

 found one in America the other in Europe and Western Asia. 

 The European species seems at present to exist only in the 

 great forests of Lithuania and in the inaccessible regions of 

 the Caucasus. Our own species is now limited to an almost 

 equally limited area and without the official protection afforded 

 the European species will soon become extinct. 



Externally the bisons are distinquished by the great develop- 

 ment of the anterior extremities, especially the "hump" over 

 the shoulders, the relatively light posterior part of the body, 

 broad, convex forehead, short conical horns with a decided 

 upward curvature, and the shaggy coat and heavy mane. The 

 nearest relative is found in the yak Bis (Poephagus) grun- 

 niens. The gaur and gayal B. gaurus and B. frontalis are also 

 nearer than members of the restricted genus Bos. 



