21 6 THE OX AND ITS KINDRED 
literature by the designation properly belonging to 
its European cousin, namely, as Bos^ or Bison^ bison^ 
in spite of the fact that it has the alternate and 
much more appropriate title of Bos aniej'icanus. 
The name of B. bison, which is now believed to 
apply to the American animal, although the opposite 
view was prevalent for many years, was, however, 
published at an earlier date than B. ainericanus, and 
is, therefore, according to modern views on nomen- 
clature, entitled to stand, in spite of its inappropriate 
character. 
Here it may be mentioned that the popular name 
bison, which belongs of right solely to the European 
species, is applicable to the American animal only as 
a kind of courtesy title ; and as the two undoubtedly 
represent distinct species, it would be far better if the 
western animal had a separate popular name of its 
own. 
In its Canadian haunts the American bison is, like 
its European cousin, a forest-dwelling ruminant, 
whereas in the days of its prime the bison of the 
United States was a denizen of the open prairies 
of the west. It has been generally assumed that 
the prairie animal was the primitive type, and the 
forest-haunting race (scientifically known as B. bison 
athabascce) a later derivative. But, unless there be 
historical evidence to the contrary, it would seem, 
from the fact that the European bison is a forest- 
dweller and that the Canadian race of the American 
species is not only likewise an inhabitant of forests, 
but also the one living nearest to the route by which 
the members of the group made their way into the 
New World, far more probable that B. bison atha- 
bascce is the primitive type of the western species. 
