Dr. N. SevertzofF on the Mammals of Turkestan. 173 



of the skull remain unanchylosed ; and this, altlioiigh not 

 so easily as in joung- specimens, can be seen also in the 

 oldest individuals. The general shape of the skull, again, 

 presents plainer differences in adult animals in which the bones 

 of the skull are already anchylosed. 



All the wild sheep of Turkestan belong to one systematic 

 and geographical group, which forms a genus not yet esta- 

 blished in science. 



For doing this some general characteristics are required in 

 the systematic classification of the sheep. 



These sheep, as is well known, belong to the Cavicornia, 

 and, together with the genus Capra, form a very natural group. 

 Linna?us first established the two genera Capra and Ovis ; 

 afterwards, however, Pallas, having found between them an 

 intermediate species (his JEgoceros ammon, or A. Fallasit, 

 Rouill.) with characters peculiar to both the above mentioned 

 genera, joined the two in one family of jEgoceros. Afterwards 

 they had to be separated again, and with very good reason. 

 I think, however, that the generic name of ^goceros ought to 

 be retained, though not in Pallas's meaning, and used for the 

 species^, awmo/?, which is as distinct from Capra as Ammo- 

 tragus [Ovis] tragelaphus is from the genus Ovis, 



The latter genus I divide into two by the form of the horns: — 

 1st, the north-eastern group of sheep, including the Turkestan 

 species and the domestic Ovis aries ; and, 2nd, the southern 

 and western sheep will form the genus Musimon^ characterized 

 by the mane of its typical form. 



I. The typical form for the genus Ovis, taking it in the 

 above restricted sense, is 0. argali, Pall. The characters of 

 the genus are the following : — The horns gradually diverge 

 from each other towards their points, which latter liave an 

 inclination outwards. 



IT. Musimones. The horns diverge from each other only to 

 a certain length (not alike in all species) ; consequently the 

 ends of the horns bend inwards again and approach one another. 

 The form of the axil spiral is not so regular as is the case 

 with Ovis. 



So that the genus Musimon consists of a certain number of 

 species, the horns of which do not quite agree with the above 

 described normal form of the genus Ovis. The edges of their 

 horns, which are spiral- shaped, are usually twisted on the 

 right horn to the right hand and on the left to the left hand. 

 The- animals are usually much smaller in size than the true 

 Ovis, the length from the tip of the nose to the tail being 4 to 

 4| feet. The following species belong to this genus : — Musimon 

 musimon, of the mountains of Corsica and Sardinia; M.cyprius, 



