BOS. 489 



Until quite recently there were grouuds for supposing that the 

 wild " mithan " of the mishmi hills, Upper Assam, might be Bos 

 frontalis, but, as already mentioned under Bos gaurus, this appears 

 not to be the case. A few days before these pages were sent to 

 ]n'ess, I saw, in Mr. Hume's private collection, a typical skull ot" 

 B. frontalis, obt;ained by Mr, W. Davison in Tenasserim, aud 

 distinctly identified by him as that of a wild animal killed in 

 Tenasserim, between Leinyne, 66 miles south by east of Moulmein, 

 and Tenasserim town. This is, I believe, the first distinct record 

 of the occurrence of B. frontalis in the wild state. The range of 

 the species is still a question to be solved. 



The tame herds of B. frontalis are kept for food, and according 

 to some authorities for their milk, though this is doubtful, as most 

 of the Indo-Chinese tribes who keep mithans never drink milk. 

 The animals appear never to be employed in agricultural labour, 

 nor as beasts of burden. They roam and feed unattended tlu'ough 

 the forest during the day, and return to their owner's village at 

 night. They breed at times freely with the common humped cattle, 

 and the progeny has been crossed with other boviues (Bartlett, 

 P. Z. S. 1884, p. 399). The period of gestation is said by one 

 writer to be ten months, by another eleven, but further information 

 on this point is desirable. 



340. Bos sondaicus. The Banting. 



Bos sondaicus, Miillcr iS'- fSc/tle(/. Vcrhandl. p. 197, pis. xxxv-xxxix 

 (1839) ; Bh/th, J. A. S. B. xi', p. 44.5, xxxi, p. 336 ; id. Mam. Birds 

 Burma, p. 48 ; IF. Blanf. P. Z. S. 1890, p. 593 ; W. iSdater, Cat. 

 p. 127. 



Bi bos banting, Gray, Knowsley Menagerie, p. 48 (1850) ; Horsfield, 

 Cat. p. 183. 



Bos banteu JT, Wagner, Schreb. Siiugth. Suppl. v, p. 473. 



Gavojus sondaicus, Blyth, J. A. IS. B. xxix, p. 29o ; id. Cat. p. 160. 



Tsaing, Burmese ; 8ain-utan, Malay. 



This animal appears to be slighter than the gaur, with the legs 

 longer in proportion and the dorsal ridge less developed. The tail 

 descends below the hocks. The dewlap is of moderate size. The 

 head is much more elongate, the forehead not concave, the horns 

 smaller, cylindrical in the young, flattened towards the base in 

 adults, and curving outwards aud upwards at first, and towards the 

 tips somewhat backwards and inwards. 



Colour. Cows and young bulls have the head, body, and upper 

 portions of the limbs bright reddish brown, approaching chestnut, 

 old bulls are black ; in both sexes the legs from above the knees and 

 hocks, a large oval area on the buttocks, extending to the base of the 

 tail but not including it, a stripe on the inside of each limb, the lips, 

 and the inside of the ears are white. Calves have the outside of 

 the limbs chestnut throughout and a dark line down the back. 



DimensioYis. According to 8. Miiller, a full-grown Javan bull 

 measured 5 ft. 9^ in. high at the shoulder, the length of the head 



