Game Animals of India, etc. 



latter. The males of the argali appear to be the largest 

 of all wild sheep, and are characterised by their massive 

 horns, in which the basal girth is very large, and both 

 the front and lateral surfaces are very broad. In most 

 cases both the inner and outer front anMes of the 

 horns are rounded off in the basal portion of their 

 length, and the transverse wrinkles are numerous and 

 closely approximated, with the intervening grooves 

 deep, and strongly developed on both the front and 

 lateral surfaces. As regards curvature, the horns form 

 a spiral varying from somewhat less to considerably 

 more than a complete circle. In the ewes (plate iii, 

 fig. 2a) the horns are much smaller and more erect, 

 with a backwards and outwards curvature, becoming 

 thin and strap-like towards the extremities. In winter 

 the hair is comparatively short, close, and coarse ; but 

 in summer, and more especially in aged rams, it is 

 short and thin, recalling that of a closely-clipped horse. 

 There may be an abundant ruff of long white hair on 

 the throat. On the upper-parts the general colour in 

 the rams varies from wood-brown in winter to a kind 

 of speckled whitey brown in summer, at least in aged 

 individuals. There is a more or less distinct white 

 disk on the buttocks (most developed in winter) ; the 

 face and front of the legs vary from whitey brown to 

 brown, according to season and race ; the inner side of 

 the limbs and most of the under-parts are whitish ; but 

 the thighs are always dark like the back. Ewes 

 apparently show less white on the face, legs, and 

 rump, and may have a tuft of longish hair on the 

 nape of the neck. 



The general characters of the horns of adult rams 

 of the typical O. amnion are so different from those of 

 O. poll that there is no difficulty in distinguishing 

 between the two animals, which are further differentiated 

 by colour, the former having the outer surface of the 

 thighs coloured like the back, while in the latter it is 

 white. In the Tibetan race, where they are often more 



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