454 M. II. Dinnik on the Caucasian 



animals the occipital is also hardly distinguishable; the coronal 

 suture is likewise almost imperceptible in old specimens, and 

 of the lambdoidal there is not a trace even in young animals. 

 The other cranial and facial sutures have no peculiarity. The 

 concavity of the eye is surrounded by a very strong, raised, 

 continuous osseous ring. The nasal bones are wide and very 

 thick. Between the lachrymal, nasal, and frontal bones there 

 is a narrow foramen. 



The hoof of this goat has the following peculiarities : — 

 The underneath part or sole consists of a thick, firm, but 

 tolerably soft and elastic skin ; in movement this adjusts 

 itself to all the unevennesses of the rocks and prevents the 

 foot from sli])ping. On the sides and in front it is confined 

 to a ring of very hard horny substance, which is thicker in 

 front, and forms a reliable crook for grasping the slightest 

 ledge or hollow. I have also observed in young goats a dis- 

 tinct projection on the back part of the sole, which prevents 

 the foot from slipping forward ; full-grown specimens do not 

 always have thi;:. 



The distribution of every khid of Capra is very limited. 

 We know, for instance, that the Alpine goat {Cajjva ihex) 

 only inhabits the Swiss Alps and is not met with in the 

 neighbouring mountains ; the Pyrenees are inhabited by 

 another kind, C. i^yrenaica ; the Sierra Nevada, and Sierra 

 l\onda by a third, G. hispamca (Schimp.*) ; and so on. 

 Possibly only one, Capra sibirica^ Meyer, is an exception, by 

 reason of its wide distribution ; but if, as N. A. Severtsofi" sug- 

 gests t) Capra sl-yn is to be distinguished from C. sibirica as 

 a separate species, tlie regions of their distribution will be com- 

 ])letely normal, i. e. limited like that of other species. Nobody 

 has yet, I believe, discussed the distribution of each of the 

 Caucasian goats : Guldenstedt pointed out the distribution of 

 his Cajjra caucasica, but he did not know of the existence in 

 the Caucasus of other forms of goats [Capra Pallasii was 

 discovered much more recently) ; hence probably he fell into 

 error in saying that Capra caucasica occurs on the Oss^te road 

 and in Kakhetia j but I have succeeded in learning something- 

 concerning the question. 



I have several times been in the mountains at the sources 

 of the Great and Lesser Laba, Urup, Zelenchuk, Teberda, 

 Ddiit, Kuban, on Elbruz and its spurs, everywhere 1 have 

 hunted and examined the horns preserved by the hunters, yet 

 never have I seen either Capra Pallasii [zEgoceros Pallasii^ 

 Rouill.) itself or its horns. Thus 1 may say with certainty, 



* ' Blasius, Saugethiere Deutschlands/ p. 480. 



t ' Vertical aud Horizontal Distributiou of the Tiukestau Fauua.' 



