408 THE AGE OF MAMMALS 



merckii) is a relative of the smaller form (D. etruscus) of the Norfolk inter- 

 glacial, or first interglacial period, but is readily distinguishetl by its hypso- 

 dont or long-crowned grinding teeth. It is distinguished from all other 

 rhinoceroses by its greater size and relatively longer legs; ^ the horn was very 

 long, and inclined forward, the second horn seeming to have been almost 

 equally large. The skin, so far as we know, was not clothed with hair. It 

 left no descendants on the Mediterranean islands, nor have remains been 

 found in Spain. 



The true mammoth (E. trogontherii) , which first occurs at this stage, 

 is the most specialized form of elephant which has ever existed, especially 

 in the numerous thin and closely compressed laminae in the enamel of its 

 teeth. Probably its most typical form is that of the northern or arctic 

 phase of evolution (E. primigenius) , which belongs to the third great faunal 

 zone of the Pleistocene. 



The bison {B. prisons) rivaled the mammoth as a wanderer, able to 

 adapt itself to wide diversities of climate. In the long, warm, interglacial 

 period there existed a race, B. priscus (antiqui), which enjoyed a wide dis- 

 tribution, while on the Mediterranean islands there lived pigmy varieties. 

 The bison is a brachycephalic or short-headed ox, while its contemporary, 

 the gigantic urus {Bos primigenius) is long-headed or dolichocephalic, also 

 less slender and less agile than the bison. At Diirnten, remains of the urus 

 are found associated with those of E. antiqnus and D. merckiir The popular 

 Teutonic designation of these animals is rather confusing to English ears. 

 It is: 



"Auerochs," ''Wisent" = Bison priscus. 



"Ur-ochs" "Urus " {i.e. primitive oxen) = Bos primigenius. 



The urus of Caesar, or Ur-ochs, is mentioned as surviving in Germany in 

 its wild state as late as the twelfth century a.d. The bison or Wiserit has 

 survived to the present time, and is now represented in the Bos bison or 

 Bison bonasus of Lithuania, where it is carefully preserved.^ The relations 

 of these animals to domestication will be considered on a later page. 



Horses of the Second and Third Faunal Zones. — There is bright promise 

 of clearing up the relations of the Pleistocene horses of Europe to the 

 modern wild and domesticated races through new lines of study instituted 

 by Ewart'* since 1904. The different wild breeds of horses have evolved 

 in three great kinds of environment: thus we discover horses adapted to: 

 (1) forests and upland valleys, (2) to high, dry steppes, (3) to deserts or 

 plateaux. In these three chief habitats the horses may be respectively 



1 Pohlig, Eiszeit und Urgeschichte des Menschen, 1907, pp. 124-125. 



^Pohlig, H., Eiszeit und Urgeschichte des Menschen. Leipzig, 1907, p. 131: and Riiti- 

 meyer, L., Die Fauna der Pfahlbauten der Schweiz. Aeue Denkschr. schweiz. Ges. gesam. 

 ■Naturwiss., Vol. XIX. Ziirich, 1862, pp. 68-112. 



' Ewart, J. C, '04, '07, '09. :^or titles see Bibliography. 



