THE MARKHOOR 839 



natives of Kashmir the ibex is known as the kel, while in Baltistan and Ladakh it 

 is termed skin, or iskin. 



The third representative of the group is the Arabian or Sinaitic ibex 



(C. sinaitica}, locally known as the beden. This goat is found in the 

 Sinaitic Peninsula, in portions of Palestine, and in Upper Egypt; it is common in Ara- 

 bia Petraea, but more rare in Palestine proper, and never appears to have extended 

 northward of the Lebanon, where a few still remain. In Egypt its southern limit 

 is approximately marked by the tropic of Capricorn. This species is distinguished 

 from the Himalayan ibex by the horns being more compressed, and having the 

 knobs on the front surface arranged at less regular intervals. The general color 

 of the fur is yellowish brown, with dark markings on the back, chest and front of 

 the legs; the under parts and the hinder surface of the limbs being whitish. In 

 well-grown adult males the horns may attain a length of thirty-six inches along the 

 curve, and Sir E. G. Loder has a pair almost thirty-nine inches in length. The 



habits of the animal appear to be similar to those of the others. 



Lastly, there is the little-known Abyssinian ibex (C. walie), from 



Abyssinia, distinguished from the others by the curvature of its horns, 

 and the presence of a protuberance in the middle of the forehead. 



THE MARKHOOR (C. falconert) 



The Himalayan markhoor (literally snake eater), or spiral-horned goat, brings 

 us to the last representative of the genus Capra, and one distinguished from all the 

 others by its upwardly-directed and spirally-twisted horns, and also by the exten- 

 sion of the beard on to the chest and shoulders. In the latter respect this species 

 reminds us of the arui among the sheep, although -the markhoor agrees with other 

 goats in the shortness of its tail. The markhoor is further remarkable for the enor- 

 mous amount of variation in the form and size of the horns; one variety having 

 them twisted in the form of a corkscrew, with not more than one and a half com- 

 plete turns, while in another they are twisted on their own axis in the form of a 

 screw, which may have as many as three complete turns. These varieties were 

 formerly regarded as constituting distinct species, but since they are more or less 

 completely connected by intermediate forms like those represented in our illustra- 

 tions, they are now generally regarded as the extreme developments of one very 

 variable species. The horns of the varieties with a corkscrew-like twist are the 

 finest trophies yielded by any of the goats. 



According to General Kinloch, the male markhoor may stand nearly three feet 

 eight inches at the withers, although an adult Gilgit specimen, measured by Colonel 

 J. Biddulph, measured only three feet two and one-half inches. The magnificent 

 beard, extending in the adult males on to the chest and shoulders, and sometimes 

 reaching nearly to the knees, is black in front and gray behind; in the young bucks 

 and the does at all ages it is confined to the chin. The fur has but little or no 

 pashm, and in summer is of a reddish-brown color, but becomes gray in winter; it is 

 paler on the under parts, and the lower portions of the front of the legs have a dark 

 stripe. In summer the very old males become whitish all over; while the young 



