THE AMERICAN BISONS. 



15 



The imperfect humerus from Georgia is rather larger (about one tenth) 

 than the humerus from Eschscholtz Bay referred by Dr. Richardson to his 

 Bison crassicornis, as shown by Dr. Leidy's measurements. The tibia has 

 also about the same proportional size as the humerus. 



The metatarsal bone from Georgia is also a little stouter than the meta- 

 tarsal attributed by Dr. Richardson to Bison crassicornis, though of about the 

 same length, but, as shown by the subjoined table of measurements, neither 

 differs much in size from the corresponding part of a large old male aurochs, 

 all of which much exceed in size the metatarsal of an old very large male 

 Bison americanus. 



TABLE II. 



Measurements of Metatarsal Bones. 



Explanation of Table II. 



1. Dixon " ci-assicornis." " No. 78 " of ltichardson. 



2. Bison latifrons. Dr. Leidy's specimen, Darien, Georgia. 



3. Bison bonasus. Large old male. (M. C. Z. No. 165.) 



4. Bison americanus. Large old male. (M. C. Z. No. 10 ) 



5. Bison americanus. Specimen (fossil ?^-from Dubuque, Iowa. (See Wyman, in Whitney's Rep. on the 



Upper Mississippi Lead Region, p. 421.) 



6. Bison americanus. Adult female. (M. C. Z. No. 1 735.) 



7. Domestic Bull, " Baron of Oxford." 



8. Bison prisms. Specimen from Clacton, England. Professor Owen's measurements. 



9. Bison "bonasus." " Sub-fossil" specimen from Lilljeborg's measurements. 



The fragment of a ramus from Georgia is the only portion of the lower 

 jaw' supposed to belong to any of the extinct American bisons thus far 

 described. The teeth in this fragment being very much worn and their 

 original characters thereby disguised, the specimen was at first referred to 

 the genus Sits, and was subsequently made the basis of a new genus for a 

 supposed new " tapiroid pachyderm." Still later it was determined by Dr. 

 Leidy to belong to an extinct bison, being referred by him to Bison 



