526 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



size, considerably exceeding the common Ox in bulk. It still 

 occurs in the forests of the Caucasus in a wild state, but it no 

 longer occurs wild in Europe, if we except a herd maintained 

 by the Czar in one of the forests of Lithuania. Nearly allied 

 to the Aurochs is the American Bison or Buffalo (Bison Ameri- 

 canns). This species formerly occurred in innumerable herds 

 in the prairies of North America, but it has been gradually 

 driven westwards, and has been much reduced in numbers. 

 Two other very well known forms are the Cape Buffalo (Bu- 

 balus Coffer) and the common Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). The 

 former of these occurs in southern and eastern Africa, and the 

 latter is domesticated in India and in many parts of the south 

 of Asia. The horns in both species are of large size, and their 

 bases are confluent, so that the forehead is protected by a 

 bony plate of considerable thickness. 



The last of the Oxen which deserves notice is the curious 

 Musk-ox (Ovibos moschatus}. This singular animal is at the 

 present day a native of Arctic America, and is remarkable for 

 the great length of the hair. It is called the Musk-ox, because 

 it gives out a musky odour. Like the Reindeer, the Musk-ox 

 had formerly a much wider geographical range than it has at 

 present ; the conditions of climate which are necessary for its 

 existence having at that time extended over a very much 

 larger area than at present. The Musk-ox, in fact, in Post- 

 tertiary times is known to have extended over the greater part 

 of Europe, remains of it occurring abundantly in certain of 

 the bone-caves of France. 



CHAPTER LXXVIIL 



HYRACOIDEA AND PROBOSCIDEA. 



ORDER VII. HYRACOIDEA. This is a very small order which 

 has been constituted by Huxley for the reception of two or 

 three little animals, which make up the single genus Hyrax. 

 These have been usually placed in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of the Rhinoceros, to which they have some decided 

 affinities, and they are still retained by Owen in the section of 

 the Perissodactyle Ungulates. 



The order is distinguished by the following characters : 

 There are no canine teeth, and the incisors of the upper jaw 

 are long and curved, and grow from permanent pulps, as they 



