4i6 



RECORDS OF BIG GAME 



Head of Male Burmese Banting. (From the Proc. Zool. Sue, 1898. 



BANTING (Bos sondaicus). 



The third and last member of the gaur group departs less widely 

 from the type of the common ox than do the two others, the ridge on 

 the withers being less developed, and the horns almost cylindrical. 

 The cows, too, are always reddish coloured, although the bulls may be 

 black, and in the latter sex at least there is always a large white patch 

 on the rump. Very distinctive of the species is the presence of a 

 horny shield on the crown of the head between the bases of the horns. 

 Height at shoulder about 5 feet 9 inches. 



Distribution. — Burma, the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Java, Bali, and 

 perhaps Sumatra. At least two distinct races of the banting are 

 distinguishable. First, the true banting, or Java ox (^Bos sondaicus 

 typicus), from Java, and perhaps some of the other Malayan islands 

 and the Peninsula. In this race the old bulls become of a deep 

 blackish brown colour. The same tint is characteristic of the old 

 male banting in Borneo, but the horns are directed more uprightly. 



