12(> Notices of various Animal Remains 



ticated ox. This small short-horned ox, Professor Owen has 

 designated the Bos longifrons. " It belongs," the learned 

 Professor says in his excellent work on ' British Fossil Mam- 

 mals,' " like our present cattle, to the sub-genus Bos, as is 

 shewn by the form of the forehead, and by the origin of the 

 horns from the extremities of the occipital ridge ; but it 

 differs from the contemporary Bos primigenius, not only by 

 its great inferiority of size, being smaller than the ordinary 

 breeds of domestic cattle, but also by the horns being pro- 

 portionally much smaller and shorter, as well as differently 

 directed, and by the forehead being less concave. The horn 

 cores of the Bos longifrons describe a single short curve out- 

 wards and forwards in the plane of the forehead, rarely ris- 

 ing above that plane, more rarely sinking below it ; the cores 

 have a very rugged exterior, and are usually flat at their 

 upper part." Vide Owen's Brit. Fos. Mammal. With regard 

 to the horn cores, Professor Owen seems to allow some little 

 latitude, both as to their size and curvature. In alluding, 

 p. 501, to the Urus being distinguished from the Bos tanrus 

 by its great size, and the direction of the horns, he quotes 

 from Cuvier the following remark : " The naturalist well 

 knows that such characters are neither constant nor proper 

 for the distinction of species ;" and, accordingly, he admits 

 that the Urus was subject to some variety in these respects ; 

 and, in the passage just quoted, he also appears to allow a 

 certain amount of range in the curvature of the horn cores 

 of the Bos longifrons ; for he says, as already mentioned, 

 they " rarely rise above the plane of the forehead, and more 

 rarely fall below it. 1 ' The four skulls in my possession 

 (which I now exhibit), seem to correspond very considerably 

 with these general characters of the Bos longifrons, if we 

 consider an allowance made for the slightly upward bend of 

 the horn cores of one at least of them, while they agree with 

 the forward curvature, and scarcely rise above the plane of 

 the forehead. Indeed, two of them (Nos. III. and TV.), seem 

 very closely to resemble the description given by Professor 

 Owen, and the horns of No. IV. especially correspond ; the 

 other two, Nos. I. and II. (vide Plate), although perhaps 

 slightly different, and of rather a larger size, still agree con- 



