Like the European Bison, the skeleton of the Yak has fourteen pairs of ribs. Period of gestation not recorded.
THE GYALL, (Bos Frontalis of Lambert;)
THE GAYAL, (Bos Gavæus of Colebrooke;)
THE JUNGLY GAU, (Bos Sylhetanus of F. Cuvier.)
Of the animals named in the foregoing list, we have had several very interesting accounts; but none of these have been sufficiently precise to enable us to determine the specific character of the animals described.
Are they, as some affirm, merely different names for the same animal; or do they designate animals which are really and truly distinct?
Nothing short of an appeal to structure can satisfactorily settle this or any other disputed point of a similar nature; but, unfortunately for zoology, the opportunities for such appeals are rare, and, when they do occur, are seldom taken advantage of. Let us hope that this hint will not be lost on some of our intelligent countrymen in the East; and that before long we may be favoured with the result of their researches.
In the meantime, and in order to facilitate as much as possible the endeavours of those who may have opportunities for such inquiries, the following epitome is given of the various papers which have already appeared on the subject, but which, in their present scattered form, are of very little general utility.