86 OVIS. 



between orbits, inner edge, 180; circumference of horns at base, 395; 

 length along outer curve, 850; spread at tips, 485. 



cervina mexicanus (Ovis), (Merr.,) Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., xiv, 



1901, p. 30. 



MEXICAN MOUNTAIN SHEEP. Borrego Cimaron in Mexico; Tenalzali 

 Taje of Indians. 



Type locality. Mountains about Lake Santa Maria, State of 

 Chihuahua. 



Geogr. Distr. Sierra Madre and Guadalupe Mountains of northern 

 Mexico and southern New Mexico and Texas. 



Genl. Char. Size large; color lighter than that of O. cervina, but 

 of the same pattern; ears and tail long. Molars large; lips of posterior 

 nares thin, everted. 



Color. General color drab brown; no dorsal stripe; rump patch 

 broad; throat, legs, and tail darker than back; chin, posterior and 

 inner side of hind leg whitish. 



Measurements. "Total length, 1530; tail vertebrae, 130; hind 

 foot, 425; height at shoulder, 900." (Merr., 1. c.) 



The Tapirs are not a very extensive family, but have representa- 

 tives in both Hemispheres. They are natives of tropical lands, and 

 in the New World are not found north of Mexico. They dwell in 

 the forests, generally near water, into which they often go for refuge, 

 are nocturnal in their habits, and of a mild, inoffensive disposition. 

 Their food consists of leaves, buds, and tender shoots of trees, and 

 various vegetable substances. Tapirs of the Old and New Worlds, 

 though living in regions widely separated, are nevertheless closely 

 allied, but the Middle American species are distinguished by 

 the more or less pronounced elongation of the ossification of the 

 methesmoid, which in them extends beyond the nasal bones, 

 but which in Old World forms does not go beyond these. Mem- 

 bers of this family are not known to have existed previous to 

 the Miocene epoch, and the animals of that and subsequent periods 

 cannot be distinguished generically from those living at present, 

 although they are specifically distinct. At one time doubtless the 

 Tapirs had a wide distribution, extending from China through Europe, 

 and in the United States as far north as South Carolina, thence west- 

 ward to California. Tapirs have a massive body, with short, stout 

 legs, and a long, prehensile upper lip, short ears, neck rather long, 

 and a short tail. The front feet have four toes, but the outer one 



