808 JOURNAL. BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. Vol. XIX. 



kind of horn in the ox tribe in the first instance and of other antelopes 

 in the second instance. The fact that somewhat the same style of 

 horns has been acquired by some Buffalos, by Gnus, by Takins and by 

 Musk Oxen is forming conclusive evidence that the actual mode of 

 growth in horns must not be regarded necessarily as a sign of kinship 

 nor yet as a reason for considering species with different horn-growth as 

 distantly related on that account. 



Therefore, coming to the point that concerns us now, since the 

 similarity between the horns of Takins and of Gnus cannot be held 

 to be a sign of affinity between these two genera, so also it cannot in 

 itself be regarded as a sign of affinity between Takins and Musk Oxen 

 nor as a reason for separating Takins from Gorals. Hodgson, it may 

 be added, long ago thought, that the shape of the horns in the 

 Takins pointed to relationship between this animal and Gnus and 

 Musk Oxen. 



It is needless in a work of this description to compare Rupicaprinaj 

 in detail with all the other sub-families of Bovidse that have been 

 instituted. Suffice it that they may be distinguished from the goats, 

 Caprinse, to which they are probably most nearly related by the absence 

 of the anterior crest on the horns such as is seen in the Markhor 

 {Capra falconeri) and the Thar [Hemitragus jemlaicus) and of the large 

 knobs on the front of the horn observable in the Himalayan Ibex 

 ( Capra sihirica). For the rest the Rupicaprines have the ears long 

 or short, narrow or wide. The tail is usually short, but in some Gorals 

 is fairly long and furnished with a long terminal tuft. False 

 hoofs are always present. In external form Serows and Gorals 

 are very much alike apart from size, and no one would guess from 

 their appearance how different they are in the structure of the 

 skulls. Nor would anyone suppose from a comparison of the skins 

 of living specimens that Gorals are not so very remote from Takins, 

 judging from skull characters. 



By external features the three would naturally be classified as 

 follows : — 



a. Body 'large and heavy ; legs thick and strong, 

 especially the forelegs below the knee ; 

 ears short with strong rounded upper 

 rim ; summit of .the muzzle above the 

 nostrils hairy ; horns arising laterally 



