176 /. Lubbock on the Ancient Lake Habitations of 



remains of Oxen, these distinctions have proved of the greatest 

 importance. _ By their assistance, and this is in some respects the 

 most interesting part of the work, M. Eiitimejer has convinced 

 hjmself that besides the two wild species of Bos, namely the 

 Urus {B. primigenius) and the Aurochs {B. bison or bison Euro- 

 pens), three domestic races of Oxen occur in Pileworks. 



The first of these is allied to, and in his opinion descended 

 from, the Urus, and he therefore calls it the Primigenius race. 

 This variety occurs in all the Pileworks of the Stone period. 

 The second or Trochoceros race, he correlates with a fossil spe- 

 cies described under this name by F. von Meyer, from the Diluvi- 

 um of Arezzo and Siena. This variety has hitherto only been 

 found at Concise. 



The third, or Lon^ifrons race, is by far the most common of 

 the three. It occurs in all the Pileworks, and at Moosseedorf and 

 Wangen— that is to say, in the settlements which are supposed 

 to be the oldest, almost to the exclusion of the Primigenius race. 

 M. Riitimeyer considers that it is the domesticated form of B. 

 hngifrons of Owen, but as the word " longifrons " seems to lum 

 to be inappropriate and incorrect, he uses the name " brachyce- 

 ros," which was originally proposed in manuscript by Owen for 

 this species, but which has also been used by Gray for an African 

 species, and ought not therefore to be adopted. 

 _ A subsequent portion of the work is devoted to the examina- 

 tion of the existing races of European Oxen. The old Trocho- 

 ceros race he considers to be extinct, but he sees in the great 

 Oxen of Friesland, Jutland, and Holstein, the descendants of the 

 Bos primigenius. This race does not now occur in Switzerland, 

 but he considers that there are at present in that country two 

 distinct varieties of Domestic Oxen. The one of various shades 

 beUyeen light grey and dark brown, but without spots, and pre- 

 vailing in Schwyz, Uri, Wallis, &c., in fact, in the whole country 

 south of a line drawn from the Lake of Constance to Walli?, 

 agrees in its general osteological characters with the Bos longifrons 

 of Owen. The other or spotted variety, which is generally ot 

 smaller size, and prevails in Northern Switzerland, is considered 

 by M. Riitimeyer to be descended from the B. fro ntos us, a spe- 

 cies found fossil in Sweden and described by Nillson. 



i will not express any opinion of my own as to these conclu- 

 sions. The subject is one no less difficult than important, and 

 i not permit us to lay before our readers the details 



given by M Rutimeyer, to whose work therefore we must re[er 

 ail those who wish for more information on the subject. AH 

 naturalists must feel much indebted to M. Riitimeyer for the la- 

 t>or he spent, and the light he has thrown upon the subject, 

 wnetner we eventually adopt his conclusions or not. 



