8 THE PRJEVALSKY HORSE. 



This is undoubtedly less than in the onager, the average length 

 of whose ears I found to be 170 nun. (6.6 inches) in four stuffed 

 specimens. The shortest pair of ears measured 165 mm. (6.4 

 inches), which is much longer than occurred in the Prjevalsky 

 horse. The ears of the kiang are still longer thnn those of the 

 onairer, and averaged 200 mm. (7.8 inches) in three specimens. 

 If the measurements obtained by Langkavel from the kiang in 

 the Hamburg Museum are included, it is found that the length 

 of the ear of the kiang varies from 180 mm. (7 inches) to 200 

 mm. ; that is, the minimum length is greater than the maximum 

 for tlie onager. In a specimen of the Prjevalsky horse (No. 

 3,094), the length of the ear is 170 mm. ; and this is the greatest 

 length of the ears of any specimen in the Zoological Museum of 

 the Academy of Science. It should be borne in mind that the 

 average length of the head of E. prjtvahhii is greater than that 

 of the onager or the kiang ; and, therefore, the comparative length 

 of the ear of the wild horse is much less than in the wild asses. 

 Thus, in this particular, Prjevalsky's horse resembles more closely 

 the domestic horse {E. caballus) than the Asiatic or African wild 

 ass. As stated by the earlier investigators (Poliakof, Prjevalsky 

 and Grum-G-rjimiiilo,* the upper lip of E. prjevaIf;Jcii overhangs 

 the lower lip to a certain extent. 



The neck is short and broad. It is shorter than the head, to 

 which it bears the proportion of 1 :1.12. Measurements show that 

 the proportion of the length of the neck (from the occipital crest 

 to the withers) to its breadth, at the widest part, is as 1:1.06. 

 The mane, by its length, reminds one of the Asiatic wild ass. 

 As previously stated by Poliakof, it is not very long ; begins 

 between the ears, and extends to the withers. Its anterior and 

 posterior portions are short ; but about the middle it lias a length 

 of from 16 to 20 cm. (6.2 to 7.8 inches). In his description of a 

 dead Prjevalsky stallion, Grum-Grjimailo states that the mane 

 hangs down on the left side of the neck ; but Poliakof describes it 

 as being erect. This api)arent contradiction can be explained by 

 the difference in the age of the specimens examined by the two 

 writers. Poliakofs description applies to an animal eighteen 

 months' old ; whereas Grum-Grjimailo described a ten-year-old 

 stallion. The mane stands erect in all the specimens of different 

 ages in the Zoological Museum ; and in no single case does it hang 

 down. In tlie photograph of an animal described by Grum- 

 Grjimailo — an eighteen months' old male — the mane is erect. The 

 forelock of the Prjevalsky horse is about as little developed as it 

 is in the onager and the kiang. 



* Op. cit. 



