526 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



VOL. 45. 



the wild sheep in the valley of the upper Chuya; and as we neared 

 the Mongolian line these reUcs of the former occurrence of sheep, to 

 the north of their present distribution, became more common. In 

 the bed of Tschornia Creek were numbers of old weathered horns and 

 parts of skulls, and though sheep do not range in these hills at the 

 present time, in summer at least, they must have commonly grazed 

 here not many years ago. In the border range, at the head of Tschor- 

 nia Creek, Kain found signs of sheep which he beUeved had been 

 made that same spring, and also much evidence that bands %vinter on 

 those slopes. Several heads and parts of carcasses, probably of 

 animals destroyed by wolves, were comparatively recent kills. Dur- 

 ing the summer, of late years, most of the sheep range on Mon- 

 goHan territory. We were assured by aU the natives that no sheep 

 are known in the country north of Kosh-Agatch. We saw numbers 

 of skins in the trading post, all of which were said to come from the 

 neighborhood of Tchegan-Burgazi Pass. 



Lyman collected four fine rams on the Mongolian slopes, in the 

 Tayliike Valley, not far from Tarkuta Pass, July 6 to 20. Thomas^ 

 has fixed the t3rpe-locality of Ovis ammon as the upper Irtisch River, 

 Siberia, so our specimens may be assmned to be fairly typical. 

 These four summer skins are almost free of the old pelage and are 

 renewing the coat. The hair is very short, mixed white and brown, 

 and the general color varies greatly, from quite white to brown 

 with the rump patch not at aU conspicuous. Among the winter skins 

 seen in Kosh-Agatch, all said to come from Tchegan-Burgazi Pass, 

 the range of color was equally great, and we purchased examples of 

 the extremes. One is rather light brown with grayish neck and 

 shoulders, and the underside of body pure white. The other is very 

 dark blackish-brown, almost black, with whitish dorsal stripe, 

 broadly pure white on withers and mixed with brown hairs on neck 

 and lower back. All the winter skins show the large white rump 

 patch in shai-p contrast to the color of back and hips. The horns 

 of our fom* rams are good average size, by no means "record heads," 

 and exhibit the normal circumference and spread. The skulls and 

 horns measure as follows : 



Skulls of Ovis ammon. 



175183 



ADULT MALES. 



Greatest length 



Condylobasai length 



Greatest breadth 



Length upper tooth row, alveoli . 

 Length lower tooth row, alveoli . . 

 Length right horn around curves. 

 Length left horn around curves.. 



Circumference horn at base 



Distance between horn tips 



771771. 



389 

 359 

 207 

 100 

 103 

 1,278 

 1,204 

 485 

 780 



» Proc. Zool. See. London, 1911, p. 152, 1911. 



