THE ANCESTRY OF DOMESTICATED CATTLE. 
191 
at the shoulder, to the banting and the gaur, which measure nearly 
6 feet in height. Among domesticated cattle we find that some indi- 
viduals of the Dexter-Kerry, Brittany, and Permian breeds, as well 
as cattle at the North Cape, are only a little over 3 feet in height. 
The domesticated water buffalo is sometimes 6^ feet high, and some 
specimens of the sacred oxen of Ceylon are said to be only 2 feet 2 
inches in height. 
TAURINE GROUP — SUBGENUS BOS. 
The Taurine group is differentiated from the other groups as fol- 
lows: Typically, the horns are nearly or quite cylindrical, and are 
situated far apart on a ridge which forms the extreme vertex of the 
skull that overhangs the proper occipital surface of the latter; the 
forehead of the skull is flat, elongated, with a long interval between 
the bases of the horn cores and the sockets of the eyes, which are not 
tubular; the nasal bones are relatively elongated; the back alone is 
nearly straight, except in the zebu ; the hair is uniformly short ; the 
legs are typically without sharply defined " white stockings ; " the 
seventh or last cervical vertebra is short; the spines of the dorsal 
vertebrse are of moderate height and slope regularly away to the 
lumbar vertebrae, thus producing the comparatively straight line of 
the back. The upward production of the vertex of the skull, so as 
completely to shut out the occipital surface in a front view, and the 
abbreviation of the parietal zone, indicate that the Taurine, Bibo- 
vine, and Leptobovine groups are the more specialized of all the oxen, 
but as regards the vertebrae the Bisontine group is more advanced 
than the Taurine. (Lydekker, 1898.) 
Members of the Taurine group formerly ranged from Europe, 
Asia, and North Africa, although none are found wild to-day except 
where they may have escaped from domestication. All domesticated 
forms without the hump Lydekker reduces to one species. Bos taurus 
typiciis; those possessing the hump, to Bos taurus indicus. These 
two types have played the greatest role in civilization of any of the 
Bovidse and have no near wild representatives now living. 
BIBOVINE GROUP SUBGENUS BIBOS. 
All of the Bibovine group are humped forms and are natives of 
southern India. The forehead is shorter than that of the Taurine 
group, the width at the base of the horns is less, the tail is relatively 
shorter, and the legs are wide from hock to hoof. The banting and 
the gayal have been considered by some zoologists as distinct species, 
while others regard them only as forms of the gaur, one of the largest 
and most magnificent members of the family. 
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