Part 6 (1/2)

Distance from tip to tip (_a_ to _a_) 39 Length of horn (_a_ to _b_) 16 Circ.u.mference of horn at base 17 Distance of bases (_b_ to _b_) 11 Length of skull (_c_ to _c_) 19

Fig. _d_, section of the horn, at the base.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Occipital view of the same Skull.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Head of Domestic Gayal.]

In concluding these details of the Gayal and Gyall, let it be remarked that, when we hear one animal called Gayal and another Gyall, we are not, _on that account merely_, to set them down as of the same species.

It is hardly necessary to say, that similarity or even ident.i.ty of name, is not the slightest criterion of ident.i.ty of species. The name Elephant is popularly applied to that animal, whether brought from Africa or Asia; they are, nevertheless, anatomically distinct. The same observation may be made respecting the Lions of those countries, and various other animals.

It may further be observed, that the value of external characters in determining a species is very different when applied to ascertain the distinctions of domestic races, to what it is when applied to ascertain the distinctions of animals living in a natural state. In domestication, varieties ramify to an indefinite extent, and under such circ.u.mstances external characters are comparatively valueless. But wild animals retain their external characters with undeviating exactness; exceptional cases may indeed occur, but so very rarely, that they are not worth taking into the account; consequently, external forms, and in some cases even colours, become of importance in ascertaining specific distinction.

THE JUNGLY GAU.

_Bos Sylheta.n.u.s._ (Cuv.)

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Further information is requisite to decide the specific character of this animal. According to the opinion of Col. Smith, (see 'Synopsis of the Species of Mammalia' in Griffith's Translation of Cuvier's Animal Kingdom,) it is a mere variety of the Gayal (_Bos Gavaeus_); and Mr. J.

E. Gray, in his 'List of the Specimens of Mammalia in the Collection of the British Museum,' cla.s.ses it as a domestic variety of the same animal, but Mr. Fred. Cuvier regards it as an entirely new species.

The following account of the Jungly Gau (which is the only one that has been published), is a translation from the splendid folio work of Messrs. St. Hilaire and F. Cuvier.

This species of Ox, which is entirely new, appears to be the most nearly allied to our domestic cattle. Those ruminants which are cla.s.sed under the generic name of Ox, may be very naturally divided into two distinct groups. The first includes the Buffaloes, animals in some measure aquatic, living in low, swampy localities, or near rivers, in which they remain half immersed a great part of the day; having broad-based horns, partly spreading over their foreheads, flat on their internal side, and round on their external; tongue soft, &c. The second is that of the Ox, properly so called. These are distinguished from the first by their dwelling on more elevated lands, or in the vicinity of forests; having smooth round horns, without enlargement at their base; tongue covered with h.o.r.n.y papillae, &c.

It is to this second family, consisting of the American Bison, the Aurox, the Yak, and the domestic Ox, with its varieties, that the Jungly Gau undoubtedly belongs. It however differs from the first two in being entirely dest.i.tute of the thick s.h.a.ggy mane; and, instead of the long silky hair of the third, it is clothed with close, short hair, equal in uniformity of texture to the sleekest of our domestic cattle. To judge from its general appearance, we might be even tempted to take it for a mere variety of the domestic species, so close is the resemblance. But the information furnished by M. Alfred Duvaucel, in the only description which has been given, leaves no doubt as to its being a new species.

The following is M. Duvaucel's account:--”The horns of the Jungly Gau rise from the sides of the occiput, first outward, then forward, with a slight inclination backward of the upper extremity, forming a double lunation, and separated by a s.p.a.ce which gradually diminishes as the animal grows older; standing equally apart in every individual of the same age and s.e.x; are round, except at their base, which is slightly compressed; and they become smoother as the animal advances in age.

”The hump, which is characteristic of the generality of Indian oxen, is reduced in this to a slight prominence, extending to the middle of the back, and is covered with a grayish, woolly hair, rather longer than that on the other parts of the body, which spreads likewise over the occiput and the front. The rest of the hair is black except the legs, which are white from the knees downwards. The tail terminates in a large tuft of hair; and, in bulls of two or three years old, the under part of the neck is slightly furnished with long, black, silky hair.

”The female is smaller than the male, with horns of a still less proportionate size. The front of the head, instead of being convex, as in the male, appears to be slightly depressed, in consequence of the superior elevation of the muzzle. The colour of the female is not so deep a black; the gray on the top of the neck and the shoulders extends to the sides, and the inferior part of the muzzle is white.

”I have long entertained the opinion,” continues M. Duvaucel, ”that these oxen were essentially the same as the domestic--that they were both varieties of the same species; but this opinion was formed on the inspection only of such specimens as I had seen in the menagerie at Barracpour. Since that time, I have pursued them myself near the mountains of Sylhet; and I have likewise learned from various sources that they are as numerous and as generally diffused as the common Buffalo; but they appear to be wilder than the Buffalo, and not so bold, never approaching where man has established his dominion.

Nevertheless, when caught, they are easily subdued, and become quite domesticated in a few months. The milk of this species is said to be more abundant and nouris.h.i.+ng than that of any other.”

From all that is at present known respecting this animal, it is regarded by M. F. Cuvier as a new species added to the genus _Bos_; and, from the circ.u.mstance of its having been first seen in a wild state near the mountains of Sylhet, he has given it the specific name of _Sylheta.n.u.s_.

The animal represented in the following vignette is the Syrian Ox, which is considered as a variety of _Bos Taurus_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]