496 BOVID^E. 



shells, and by remains of the Mammoth, Rhinoceros, Felis, 

 large Horse, large Deer, Wolf, Sic. 



To determine to which subgenus of Bomdee belong the 

 detached teeth, vertebrae, ribs, and other bones of the 

 skeleton often mutilated and gnawed, is still attended 

 with much difficulty. Such remains, however, sufficiently 

 attest that species as large as the Bison priscus and Bos 

 primigenius were very extensively distributed throughout 

 England : they have been found in almost all the ossiferous 

 caves which have yielded the fossil remains of Elephas, 

 Rhinoceros, Hyaena, and Ursus. 



Cuvier* affirms, as the result of his numerous com- 

 parisons of the recent and fossil bones of the Bovine 

 animals, that the detached bones resemble each other too 

 much to yield certain specific characters, and that it is 

 necessary to have skulls in order to determine the species. 



The fossil metacarpal bones of the gigantic Bovidae 

 found in England, indicate two species by their different 

 proportions ; one kind being thicker than the other. The 

 metatarsal bones show a corresponding difference ; and the 

 proportions of a metacarpal found associated with the 

 skull of the Bos primigenius, to be described in the next 

 section, indicate the more slender bones to belong to the 

 Aurochs, (Bison priscus). 



This difference is shown by the subjoined admeasure- 

 ments, and may be more readily appreciated by comparing 

 fig. 207 with fig. 209. 



BISON. BOS. BISON. BOS. 



Metacarpal. Metacarpal. Metatarsal. Metatarsal. 



Grays. Grays. Clacton. Grays. 



In. Lines. In. Lines. In. Lines. In. Lines. 



Ossemens Fossiles,' vol. iv. p. 140. 



