138 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
In the brick earths of the Thames valley magnificent heads of 
this noble-looking animal have been discovered from time to time. 
Even the horn cores in many instances measure three feet, with a 
breadth of forehead between horns of one foot. Although abundant 
remains have turned up in England, Wales, and Scotland, there 
are no authentic data of the animal in connection with Ireland. 
Whether the semi-feral Chillingham breed belongs or not to this 
species, it is evident that it is, as regards size, a degenerate race 
of either of the British fossil oxen. As to the assertion that our 
domesticated cattle are descended from the Giant Ox, it may be 
stated that, unless introduced by the Romans, there is a probability 
that the Long-fronted Ox, which will be noticed presently, may 
have sprung from the latter, and in the course of ages become 
through domestication a distinct variety, from which all our modern 
cattle have been derived; but the foreign wild species are so 
numerous, that to speculate on domesticated breeds and their 
progenitors would be a fruitless undertaking. With reference ,to 
our islands, and Europe generally, it was believed by Cuvier—and 
Bell in his ‘ British Quadrupeds’ is of the same opinion—that our 
domestic cattle are the degenerate descendants of the Wild Ox, 
whilst Professor Owen is more inclined to think that the Romans 
were the first to introduce cattle into England. The discovery, 
however, of remains of the Long-fronted Ox in various parts of 
the country, associated with stone and bronze implements con- 
sidered pre-Roman, gives strength to the view that it was 
reclaimed by the ancient Britons long before the invasion. It 
seems, however, now impossible to differentiate all the points 
in connection between the wild and tame oxen, so as to come 
to just conclusions as to their relationships; indeed, as far as 
pedigree is concerned, the British human and bovine animal are 
on a par. 
THE Bison or AuRocHS seems, if anything, to have been more 
plentiful than the Giant Ox. It was larger than the living Bisons 
of Europe and America, but the connections between the three 
are very close, and, when we admit time as a factor, in conjunction 
with food, region, and climate, it may be fairly allowed that the 
present denizens of the Lithuanian, Moldavian, Wallachian, and 
Caucasian forests and North-western America are very closely 
allied to each other, and to the fossil remains found in Great 
