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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
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    "chunk_id": "1911:bovidae:2319424f133f",
    "title": "BOVIDAE",
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    "verified_text": "bovidae, the name of the family of hollow-horned ruminant mammals typified by the common ox (_bos taurus_), and specially characterized by the presence on the skulls of the males or of both sexes of a pair of bony projections, or cores, covered in life with hollow sheaths of horn, which are never branched, and at all events after a very early stage of existence are permanently retained. from this, which is alone sufficient for diagnostic purposes, the group is often called the cavicornia. for other characteristics see pecora. the _bovidae_ comprise a great number of genera and species, and include the oxen, sheep, goats, antelopes and certain other kinds which come under neither of these designations. in stature they range from the size of a hare to that of a rhinoceros; and their horns vary in size and shape from the small and simple spikes of the oribi and duiker antlers to the enormous and variously shaped structures borne respectively by buffaloes, wild sheep and kudu and other large antelopes. in geographical distribution the _bovidae_ present a remarkable contrast to the deer tribe, or _cervidae_. both of these families are distributed over the whole of the northern hemisphere, but whereas the cervidae are absent from africa south of the sahara and well represented in south america, the bovidae are unknown in the latter area, but are extraordinarily abundant in africa. neither group is represented in australasia; celebes being the eastern limit of the _bovidae_. the present family doubtless originated in the northern half of the old world, whence it effected an entrance by way of the bering strait route into north america, where it has always been but poorly represented in the matter of genera and species. the _bovidae_ are divided into a number of sections, or subfamilies, each of which is briefly noticed in the present article, while fuller mention of some of the more important representatives of these is made in other articles. the first section is that of the _bovinae_, which includes buffaloes, bison and oxen. the majority of these are large and heavily-built ruminants, with horns present in both sexes, the muzzle broad, moist and naked, the nostrils lateral, no face-glands, and a large dewlap often developed in the males; while the tail is long and generally tufted, although in one instance longhaired throughout. the horns are of nearly equal size in both sexes, are placed on or near the vertex of the skull, and may be either rounded or angulated, while their direction is more or less outwards, with an upward direction near the tips, and conspicuous knobs or ridges are never developed on their surface. the tall upper molars have inner columns. the group is represented throughout the old world as far east as celebes, and has one living north american representative. all the species may be included in the genus _bos_, with several subgeneric divisions (see anoa, aurochs, bantin, bison, buffalo,",
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