OVIS MUSMON. 143 



Ovis Musmon. 



Ovis Aries, Desm. Mamni. Sp. 741. 



Ovis Musmon, Keyserling und Blasius, Wirbelth. Eiirop. 



Ovis Musinwn, Schinz, Europ. Faun. vol. i. p. 88. 



Ccq^ra Musmon, Buon. Faun. Ital, 



Muffione of Sardinia, Muffoli of Corsica. 



The Wild Sheep, or Musmon. 



Descriptiois-. — Honis very large and strong, wrinkled prin- 

 cipally at their base, arching backwards, and curled round, 

 of a grepsh-yellow colour ; ears moderate, straight, pointed, 

 only a trace of tear-furrow ; body compact, muscular, 

 rounded ; tail very short, naked beneath ; under-fur woolly, 

 fine, grey, and twisted like a corkscrew ; the upper fui* is 

 silky, but short and rather stiff; general colour of the 

 upper parts and outside of legs dull rufous, mixed with 

 some black hairs ; a line along the back of a darker 

 colour ; the under part of the neck to the chest, the lower 

 part of the fore-legs in front, and the tail, as well as the 

 front and sides of the face, blackish ; a line of the same 

 colour extends from one corner of the mouth to the other, 

 passing below the eye ; a space beneath the eyes, the belly, 

 a patch on each side of the tail, and the edges of the tail 

 are white ; on the middle of each flank is a large spot of 

 very pale rufous ; the inside of the mouth, the tongue, and 

 the nostrils are black. In mnter the fiu- becomes darker 

 and more dense. The female differs from the male by the 

 smaller size of her horns, or more commonly by their en- 

 tii'e absence ; and is altogether smaller than the other sex. 



Length of head and body (male), 3 feet 4 inches ; tail, 

 3| inches ; horns, 1 foot 11 inches ; height at the most 

 elevated part of the back, 2 feet 3 to 5 inches. 



The Musmon inhabits the highest and least accessible 

 mountains, but always in temperate climates ; it lives in 

 herds, which are sometimes composed of one hundred in- 



