he base." He likewise describes a dwarf race in Corrientes,
with short legs and a body larger than usual. Cattle without horns, and
others with reversed hair, have also originated in Paraguay.

Another monstrous breed, called niatas or natas, of which I saw two small
herds on the northern bank of the Plata, is so remarkable as to deserve a
fuller description. This breed bears the same relation to other breeds, as
bull or pug dogs do to other dogs, or as improved pigs, according to H. von
Nathusius, do to common pigs.[207] Ruetimeyer believes that these cattle
belong to the primigenius type.[208] The forehead is very short and broad,
with the nasal end of the skull, together with the whole plane of the upper
molar-teeth, curved upwards. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper, and
has a corresponding upward curvature. It is an interesting fact that an
almost similar conformation characterizes, as I have been informed by Dr.
Falconer, the extinct and gigantic Sivatherium of India, and is not known
in any other ruminant. The upper lip is much drawn back, the nostrils are
seated high up and are widely open, the eyes project outwards, and the
horns are large. In walking the head is carried low, and the neck is short.
The hind legs appear to be longer, compared with the front legs, than is
usual. The exposed incisor teeth, the short head and upturned nostrils,
give these cattle the most ludicrous, self-confident air of defiance. The
skull which I presented to the College of Surgeons has been thus described
by Professor Owen:[209] "It is remarkable from the stunted development of
the nasals, premaxillaries, and fore-part of the lower jaw, which is
unusually {90} curved upwards to come into contact with the premaxillaries.
The nasal bones are about one-third the ordinary length, but retain almost
their normal breadth. The triangular vacuity is left between them, the
frontal and lachrymal, which latter bone articulates with the premaxillary,
and thus excludes the maxillary from any junction with the nasal." So that
even the connexion of some of the bones is changed. Other differences might
be added: thus the plane of the condyles is somewhat modified, and the
terminal edge of the premaxillaries forms an arch. In fact, on comparison
with the skull of a common ox, scarcely a single bone presents the same
exact shape, and the whole skull has a wonderfully different appearance.

The first brief published notice of this race was by Aza