ALLEN — BISON REMAINS FROM NEW ENGLAND 
163 
Since the identification of this important specimen rests solely on the 
second and third upper milk molars, it may be well to point out some 
of the details of structure that distinguish these teeth in Bison bison 
from the corresponding teeth of the domestic ox, Bos taurus^ for at 
first sight the teeth of the two species are very similar in general appear- 
ance. The second milk molar (dp^), on account of its more compli- 
cated structure, is of greater diagnostic value than either of the others. 
It is (1) slightly longer than in the domestic calf in four out of five speci- 
mens examined. (2) At the anterior outer corner there are at the sum- 
mit of the crown, two very short crests embracing a shallow depression 
Fig. 1. Domestic Calf, Bos taurus 
Second upper milk molar (dp^) of left side, crown view (M. C. Z. 86) 
Fig. 2. American Bison, Bison bison 
The same tooth of the Cape Cod specimen, crown view 
Fig. 3. American Bison, Bison bison 
Same tooth, slightly worn, in a specimen from Kansas (M. C. Z. 90) 
(fig. 1, a) in the domestic calf, whereas in the bison (fig. 2) these crests 
are much more prominent and are separated by a deeper cleft. Both 
species exhibit variation in the formation of these cusplets. In one 
domestic calf (M.C.Z. 86) they are practically confluent, without a 
sign of the dividing cleft ; in another the cleft is a mere pit. In Bison 
bison on the contrary they are much better developed and in a slightly 
worn milk tooth (fig. 3) may even appear as two small lobes. (3) In 
the domestic calf the antero-internal cingulum cusp (fig. 1, b) is much 
better developed than in the calf bison, forming a narrow and evenly 
ascending ridge from the base of the tooth to the summit of the crown. 
