External Characters of Ruminant ArtioJactyU. 101 



IX. — On some External C/tnr,i-/,-i\s of lininniint Artio- 

 daclifla. — Part VTI. Domesticated Cittle (B03 tauiuj a/i ^ 

 B. i'mliciKs)*. By W. I. PocoCK, F.U.S. 



I. Introduction. 



The question of the origin of domesticated cattle Iiaa an 

 extensive literature. TIio latest volume on tlie gnl)ject 

 known to me was published in 1912 hy tlie latei Mr. Lydokkin- 

 and entitled ' The Ox and its Kindred.' In this the views of 

 previous writers are collated and analyzed, and accepted or 

 rejected as the case may he, the general conclusions arrived 

 nt being apparently the following: — 



1. Domesticated cattle are descended from two distinct 



species, one of which (B. tauruf) is represented in its 

 purest form at the j^resent time by Pembroke, Kerry, 

 West Hiifhiand, and British Park breeds, the other 

 (i?. t'ndi'us) by the breeds of zebus or humped cattle 

 of India and elsewhere. 



2. The extinct aurochs {B. pri'mirjeniiin) was t!ie ancestor 



of B. taurus. 



3. The existing banteng {B. Itanteng) was the ancestor of 



i?.//}J/VjK>f,atheoryoriginally propounded by Riitimeyer 

 in 1878 and supported by Keller in l'.)02t. 



4. The existence in the southern and some other countries 



of Europe of cattle partaking of the characters of 

 B. taurus and B. indicus is due to the introduction of 



• The substance of this paper was drafted in 1912 in the form of a 

 review wlien Mr. Lvdekker's volume, ' Tiie Ox and its Kindred,' first came 

 into my hands ; but its publication was delayed for a variety of reasons, 

 includinjf my own occupation with other work and my friend's subse- 



auent illness and death, llesumption of work upon the Runiinantia in- 

 uced me to take up the paper ajrain and cast it in its present form. 

 Althou!,'h comjielled to critici.se some inconsistent arfruments and theories 

 and dispute a few statements of fact it contains, I must disclaim all 

 intention of disparairinff this volume as a whole. It is a valuable ciunpi- 

 UtioQ, cantaiainp in a handy form most of the information about cattle, 

 useful to zooloj^ista and laymen, that couM be compressed into the 

 allotted space. 



t It is singular that Mr. Lydekker omits all reference to /?. I'ruficut in 

 his 'Cfttalog^ue of Ungulate Mannnals,' publi«heil in l'.M3. Accordin;,' to 

 his views this form should have found a |>lace under the sub^^enus Itibos. 

 Perhaps the reason for its omission is that it po.-,<»)»ses none of the cha- 

 racters of that (^ri'up. It may be noted that if the opinion of the descent 

 of indicus from baiitenrj bo tiiu', indirns differs not merely speciticallv, 

 but subgenerically, according' to Lydekker, from taurus. 



