It is not a genuine Elk, but is intermediate between
the Reindeer and the Fallow-deer. Among the existing Deer of the
Post-Pliocene, the most noticeable is the Reindeer, an essentially
northern type, existing at the present day in Northern Europe,
and also (under the name of the "Caribou") in North America. When
the cold of the Glacial period became established, this boreal
species was enabled to invade Central and Western Europe in great
herds, and its remains are found abundantly in cave-earths and
other Post-Pliocene deposits as far south as the Pyrenees.
[Illustration: Fig. 265.--Skull of the Urns (_Bos primigenius_).
Post-Pliocene and Recent. (After Owen.)]
In addition to the above, the Post-Pliocene deposits of Europe
and North America have yielded the remains of various Sheep and
Oxen. One of the most interesting of the latter is the "Urus" or
Wild Bull (_Bos primigenius_, fig. 265), which, though much larger
than any of the existing fossils, is believed to be specifically
undistinguishable from the domestic Ox (_Bos taurus_), and to be
possibly the ancestor of some of the larger European varieties
of oxen. In the earlier part of its existence the Urus ranged
over Europe and Britain in company with the Woolly Rhinoceros
and the Mammoth; but it long survived these, and does not appear
to have been finally exterminated till about the twelfth century.
Pages:
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528