CHAPTER II 
THE ZOOLOGICAL POSITION AND STRLXTURE 
OF THE OX 
HE ox is a species of the genus Bos, and the ' 
V latter one of the numerous genera inckided in 
the family BovidcB. ^luch confusion exists in the 
popular mind with regard to the meaning of the 
term species/' as understood by naturalists. Quite 
recently, for instance, in a Government " Blue book " 
issued in 1910 and relating to the preservation of 
African big game, I came across the expression 
" antelope species," which is simply nonsense, as it 
is intended to include something approaching one 
hundred real species. Equally unsatisfactory is the 
current usage of the term " variety," which is 
frequently employed in the sense properly belonging 
to species ; indeed, the use of the former term in 
natural history is better avoided altogether. 
\ species is really an assemblage of animals of 
which all the members, apart from sexual peculi- 
arities, agree with one another very closely in general 
characters, and in the typical locality (that is to say, 
the locality where the specimen on which the species 
was first scientifically named was obtained) are practi- 
cally indistinguishable. In the case of species with 
a limited geographical distribution, and which have 
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