BOS ETRUSCUS. 481 



XVI. NOTE OF AN UNDE SCRIBED SPECIES OF 

 BOS IN THE FLORENCE MUSEUM (BOS 



ETRUSCUS?) 1 



Florence, May 20, 1859. — I examined in the collection in the Grand 

 Dncal Museum the entire skull of a Bovine ruminant, to which the 

 lower jaw is attached. It is a good deal crushed laterally, and in the 

 frontal portion between the horns it bears a loose ticket, on which is 

 inscribed '284, Bos bombifrons' 1 of Nesti ; but I suspect that there is 

 an error or misj^lacement in the ticket, as there is no appearance of any 

 protuberance of the brow. The frontal plane extends a considerable 

 way behind the offset of the horns, showing the two temporal fossae, 

 which at their termination approach close together, with an interval of 

 only 2-g- inches. This posterior extension of the frontal plane is much 

 greater than Avhat is seen in Bos piriscus, and differs entirely from the 

 overhanging crest of Bos primigenius. The horn-cores are cylindro- 

 conical and slender, and of considerable length ; they stretch backwards 

 and outv r ards with a gentle curve, nearly in the same plane as that of 

 the brow, their convexity being outwards, something like in domestic 

 cattle. They are 22^ inches apart at their tips, with well defined 

 pedicles at their base. The dimensions are as follow : — 



Length of right horn-core measured along the outer curve, aLout 20| inches. 

 Girth at base, 9^ in. Length of skull from occipital crest to tips of incisive bone, 

 20! in - 



The form of the brow, occipital crest, and temporal fossae, the 

 direction of the horns, and the size of the skull appear to distinguish 

 this animal very remarkably from Bos primigenius and from Bos 

 priscus. It is also of very much smaller size, and I suspect constitutes 

 a distinct undescribed species, for which the designation Bos Etruscus 

 would be appropriate. The name Bos bombifrons must be a misnomer, 

 and was probably applied by Nesti to Bos priscus. 



In the same collection there are four cranial fragments of Bos prisons, 

 of very large size. They all consist of the frontal tablet, behind the 

 orbits, and each of them bears the horn-cores having the usual direction 

 seen in this species, i.e. stretching out horizontally, with the tips 

 slightly curved forwards. In the largest specimen the constriction of 

 the brow behind the orbits measures 11-g- inches, and the interval 

 between the tips of the horns 3G inches. The collection also contains 

 three cranial fragments of Bos primigenius, which, as well as those of 

 Bos priscus, are all labelled as coming from the Val di Chiana. They 

 are very fresh looking, and are evidently from a more recent deposit 

 than the old Val d'Arno specimens. The skull marked l Bos bombifrons ' 

 is well fossilized, and all the molar teeth are out. 



1 Extracted from Dr. Falconer's Note-book. — [Ed.] 

 VOL. II. I I 



