260 BULLETIN NO. VII. 



of origin of the genus. Two species of smaller but still con- 

 siderable size then appeared, one in ^Europe the other in Am- 

 erica. B. prisons of Europe and B. antiquus of America may 

 reasonably be assumed as the forerunners of the existing 

 aurochs and the American bison. These differ from each other 

 apparently more than the two earlier species from which they 

 sprang. 



The B. latifrons must have been of enormous size, the horns 

 being in the male not less than six feet long. The horn cores 

 at the base measure 20 inches, the forehead being over fifteen 

 inches wide. The existing remains were derived from Ken- 

 tucky, Texas and Mississippi, associated in some instances 

 with the mastodon and horse, as well as other extinct species. 



Bison antiquus is known from quite a variety of remains, but 

 so imperfect are they all that it remains a question whether 

 they are not specifically identical with B. latifrons or perhaps 

 with the extinct European B. priscus. The evidence seems to 

 favor the existence of a species smaller than B. latifrons, but 

 still of greater size than our living species characterized by 

 larger proportional horn cores and other differences. The 

 remains referred to have been found in California, Alaska and 

 Kentucky, and in connection with extinct elephants, tapirs and 

 horses. For a discussion of the evidence bearing on these 

 matters, refer to Allen's monograph, forming Part II, of Vol. 

 I, of the Kentucky Geological Survey Memoirs. It would be 

 of interest if it were possible to determine from what time our 

 modern species dates, yet, although the species is found fossil 

 in the bone caves of Pennsylvania and the deposits of Big-bone 

 Lick, Kentucky, we only can conclude that its remains are 

 always later than those of the mammoth and mastodon, and do 

 not reach a great antiquity. Prof. Shaler thinks it probable 

 that the bison did not co-exist with the mound-builders. 



Bison americanus GMELIN. 



Plate IV. 



We rely in many details of the description upon that given 

 by J. A. Allen and refer the reader to his monograph for bibli- 

 ography. 



An adult male measures about nine feet from the muzzle to 

 the root of the tail thirteen and one-half feet to the end of the 

 tail. The female measures six and one-half feet to the inser- 



