Game Animals of India, etc. 



a single pair of teats ; and glands are developed on the 

 face below the eyes in most, as well as others between 

 the hoots in all species ; all such glands being want- 

 ing in the oxen. In all the Asiatic members of the 

 group the tail is short ; and in none of the species 

 is there a dewlap or a beard on the chin ; while in 

 none do the males exhale a strong, unpleasant odour. 

 All the species inhabiting India and Central Asia have 

 horns in both sexes ; but while those of the rams are 

 large and spreading, in the ewes these appendages are 

 small, slender, and more upright. The horns of the 

 rams, at first starting, are directed obliquely outwards 

 from the sides of the head, and then usually form a 

 circular or spiral curve, with the upper border at first 

 convex, and the tips pointing outwards. In section, 

 the horns are generally more or less triangular, while 

 the surface is usually marked by fine parallel transverse 

 wrinkles, separated by grooves ; and at intervals there 

 occur lines of division marking the annual growths. 

 Except in the bharal, the colour of the horns in the 

 Eastern Asiatic species is some shade of yellowish olive 

 or brown. In all wild species the hair is short, dense, 

 stiff, and upright, unlike the wool of the European 

 domesticated breeds, and is frequently elongated into 

 a ruff on the throat. An important point of distinction 

 from oxen is to be found in the characters of the upper 

 cheek-teeth, which have tall and narrow (instead of 

 broad) crowns. 



Marco Polo's sheep is probably slightly inferior in 

 height to the argali and of somewhat slighter build, 

 while the horns of the rams are thinner and frequently 

 longer. In fully adult rams the latter are long, 

 slender, and form more than one complete circle ; 

 typically with the front angle prominently developed, 

 and the wrinkles on the front surface placed relatively 

 far apart, but those on the lateral surfaces often 

 indistinct. In the summer coat, which appears to be 

 rather longer than in the argali, the general colour of 



90 



