362 UNGULATA 
L. caffer from South Africa the colour is black, the horns of the male 
are very thick, much reflected, and closely approximated on the 
forehead, where they form a helmet-like mass.1_ The large northern 
form described as B. wquinoctialis has the horns somewhat less thick, 
and thus approximates to the so-called B. pumilus. 
The latter occurs typically in Western Africa, where it has also 
been described as B. brachyceros. In the typical form the horns are 
thinner and less reflected than in B. caffer, and in some specimens 
they are more widely separated on the forehead, and are marked at 
their bases by distinct ruge. The colour is ruddy brown, inclining 
to rufous in one specimen. The skulls of Buffaloes from West 
Africa, probably referable to the form described as B. centralis, appear 
to connect B. pumilus with B. caffer, as shown by their larger size 
and the form of their horns; so that further observations are 
required to show whether the smaller form is really entitled to 
rank as a distinct species, or merely as a well-marked local race. 
The second group comprises the Bisons, which are more nearly 
allied to the true Oxen, having similar rounded horns, but the skull 
being less massive, with a longer and more tapering frontal region, 
and a wider frontal diameter. The superior part of the forehead 
is transversely arched, the intercornual space elevated in the 
middle, the horns situated below the plane of the occiput, and 
the orbits more or less prominent. The premaxillae do not extend 
upwards to reach the nasals. The Bisons (Fig. 148) have the body 
covered with short, crisp, woolly hair, while on the head and neck 
there is an abundance of much longer and darker hair, which forms 
a mane concealing the eyes, ears, and the bases of the horns. There 
is also a long beard beneath the chin; while a line of long hair 
extends from the head nearly to the tail, the latter being tufted 
at the extremity. The withers are much higher than the hind 
quarters, so that there is a kind of hump at the shoulders. 
The group is represented by two species—the European and 
the American Bison. The former is the Bos bonasus of Linnezus, 
and is also identical with the Bos bison of Ray. The German name 
Wisent is the equivalent of the Greek Bison. The American 
species is the Bos americanus of Gmelin. Both species are closely 
allied, but the American Bison is slightly the smaller animal of 
the two, and is shorter and weaker in the hind quarters, with 
a smaller pelvis; its body is, however, more massive in front ; 
and the hair on the head, neck, and fore quarters is longer and 
more luxuriant. A large bull American Bison, preserved in the 
Museum at Washington, stands 5 feet 8 inches in height at the 
withers. The European Bison appears to have been formerly 
' Sir V. Brooke states that this species is distinguished from B. pumilus by 
the absence of a fringe to the ears, but specimens in the British Museum show 
that this is not the case. 
