Bos sylhetanus, F. Cuvier, Hist. Nat. Mamm. p l^ ’ 418, 419 (1824).
Bos {Bison) gavaus, H. Smith, in Griffith’s Animal Kingdom, vol. iv.
p. 406, v. p. 375’ (1827).
Urns gavaus, Swainson, Classif. Quadrupeds, p. 280 (1835).
Bison sylhetanus, Jardine, Naturalist's Library—Mamm. volMv. p. 257
(1 836). -
Bibos frontalis, Gray, List Mamm. Brit. Mus. p. 15 1 (18 4 3), ■ Cat.
Ungulata Brit. Mus. p. 31 (1852), Cat. Ruminants Brit. Mus. p. 13 (1872).
Gavtzus frontalis, Hodgson, Journ, As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xvi. p. 706
(18 4 7 ); Horsfield, Cat. E . Ind. Mus. p. 179 (18 5 1) ? Blyth, Journ A s i
Soc. Bengal, .vol. xxix. p. 294 (i860) ; Sterndale, Mamm. India, p. 486
(1884).
Bibos gavceus, Riitimeyer, Denkschr. schweiz. Ges.yo 1. xxii. art. 3, p. 170
(1867), Abh. schweiz. pal. Ges. vol. v. p. 189 ( 18 7 8 ) .''
Plate II.
Gharacters.-ffjentrsMy very-similar to those of the preceding species^
but the size smaller, the limbs relatively shorter, the dorsal ridge somewhat
less prominent, the dewlap always well developed, and th© skull and horns
o f a markedly different type. The hea:d is decidedly shorter, having almost
a triangular form, with the region of the forehead perfectly flat, and the
ridge on the summit between the bases of the horns forming a horizontal
straight line ; the horns themselves are blackish in colour from base to tip,
and are but very slightly curved, inclining outwards and more or less,
upwards, but with no inward bending ; in the skull the nasal bones are
decidedly shorter than those o f the gaur. Hair ^Omewhat longer than in
the latter, and the colour distinctly darker, thfe head and body being dark
blackish-browiTn both sexes, and the legs from above, the knees and hocks
to the hoofs pure white or yellowish. Although the domesticated race—
apparently the only one o f which entire specimens are known—is usually
uniformly coloured, individuals are not unfrequently observed more or less
spotted with white, while a few are wholly white.
Although very massively built, the gayal, at least in the semi-domesticated
state, stands very considerably lower at the shoulder than the gaur.
The horns of a wild bull measured by Mr. Blanford had a length of 14
inches, and the same basal girth. In a domesticated specimen measured by
Mr. Rowland Ward the length along the outer curve of the horn is given
as 15 inches, the basal girth 1 i-J- inches, and the interval between the tips
J ,0. 4..__Bull Gayal. i n in the Calcutta Zoological Gardens.
of the two horns 26 J inches. In a second example, of which the horn-
length i|i;pnly 1 2 | inches, the basal circumference is 2 7 ! inches.
Distribution.— For a long period there was great doubt whether the gayal,
or mithan, as it is called in Assam and Chittagong, existed at all in the
wild state ; and the opinion has indeed been expressed that the animal is
nothing more than a domesticated breed of the gaur. Mr. Blanford,
however,, records a typical skull in the private collection of Mr. A. O.
Hume, obtained by the late Mr. W. Davison in Tenasserim, and
identified by the latter as belonging to a wild animal killed by himself in
Tenasserim, between Lemyne, 66 miles south by east of Moulmein, and
Tenasserim town. This accordingly appears to fix Tenasserim as lying
F.