456 Illustrations of the Genera of the Bovince, [No. 114. 



owing to the non-saliency of the orbits and to the straightness of the 

 culmenal line drawn between the bases of the horns. There is a further 

 essential agreement with Bos and disagreement with the last, in the 

 circumstance of the horns being inserted on the summit of the frontals, 

 which however, as in the last are carried high up between the horns 

 and thence dropt perpendicularly upon the parallel plane of the occiput, 

 of which they constitute with the entirely merged parietes, not indeed 

 a half as in Bos, but a very material portion, almost |th. The posteal 

 plane of the scull is consequently of dimensions inferior only to those 

 of the last but superior to those of the occipital surface in Bos or Buba- 

 lus or Bisonus. In the present subject its depth or length is not far from 

 equal to that of the frontal plane, large as the latter is ; and as in the 

 last temporal fossae make a deep indentation upon it, though not so deep 

 as in Bibos nor so centrally placed in respect to the height or depth of 

 the plane. This indentation in both sculls marks by its position the 

 extent of the false and true portions of the occipital plane, or that com- 

 posed of the frontals and the parietals, and that composed of the occi- 

 pital bones inclusive of those of the foramen and its condyles. In Bibos 

 the former portion is equal, and more than equal to the latter, and the 

 indentation is consequently central ; in the present animal the propor- 

 tions of the two parts are as 2 to 3 and consequently the indentation 

 is supercentral. This indentation likewise, as already noted is much 

 less deeply cut, though more so than in the more ordinary types of Bos ; 

 in which latter, however, the false occiput, so characteristic of these 2 

 sculls (Gouri and Gayal), cannot be said to exist ; nor is there in Bos 

 proper any sign of the trigonal ridge denning the course of the parietes 

 superiorly in the Bisons and in them only. The transverse ridge bound- 

 ing the parietes inferiorly is defined in this scull (Gayal) about as dis- 

 tinctly as in Bibos and in Bos. In point of shape the posteal plane of 

 the present subject represents in its upper portion a vague transversely 

 laid parallelogram, and in its lower, an oblate sphere — of which two the 

 proportionate size has been already stated as 2 to 3. But, if we take no 

 heed of the indentation of the temporal fossae and moreover consider 

 (as Cuvier always does) the base of the plane as rectilinear, the figure of 

 the plane may be called square. In the common Ox this indentation is 

 really almost obsolete : but in both Ox and Yak, as in the Bibos also, the 

 basal line is arched downwards. The culmenal line is arched, (upwards) 

 only in the Gouri or Bibos and in the Bisontine Yak. The angle formed 

 by the posteal with the anteal plane of the scull of the Gayal is very acute 

 and in fact a right angle as in Bos and Bibos. The non-saliency of the 



