356 



HISTORICAL PAL ^.ONTOLOGY. 



latter is the " Urus" or Wild Bull {Bos prwiigetiius^ fig. 265), 

 which, though much larger than any of the existing forms, is 



Fig. 265. — Skull of the Urus {Bos primigenius). Post-Pliocene and Recent. 

 (After Owen.) 



believed to be specifically undistinguishable from the domes- 

 tic Ox {Bos tau?'ics), and to be possibly the ancestor of some 

 of the larger European varieties of oxen. In the earlier part 

 of its existence the Urus ranged over Europe and Britain in 

 company with the Woolly Rhinoceros and the Mammoth; but 

 it long survived these, and does not appear to have been 

 finally exterminated till about the twelfth century. Another 

 remarkable member of the Post-Pliocene Cattle, also to be- 

 gin with an associate of the Mammoth and Rhinoceros, is 

 the European Bison or " Aurochs " {Bison priscus). This 

 "maned" ox formerly abounded in Europe in Post-Glacial 

 times, and was not rare even in the later periods of the 

 Roman empire, though much diminished in numbers, and 

 driven back into the wilder and more inaccessible parts of the 

 country. At present this fine species has been so nearly 

 exterminated that it no longer exists in Europe save in 

 Lithuania, where its preservation has been secured by rigid 

 protective laws. Lastly, the Post -Pliocene deposits have 

 yielded the remains of the singular living animal which is 

 known as the Musk-ox or Musk-sheep {Ovibos 7iioschatus). 

 At the present day, the Musk-ox is an inhabitant of the 

 " barren grounds " of Arctic America, and it is remarkable for 

 the great length of its hair. It is, like the Reindeer, a dis- 



