ORDER ARTIODACTYLA: EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 587 



surfaces rather concave; length, 38 inches. General color light 

 grayish brown; belly and rump white. Height at shoulder, 34 

 inches. (Severtzoff, 1876, pp. 211-212.) Throat-ruff weakly de- 

 veloped, dirty white in old males (Nasonov, 1923, p. 71). 



Sushkin (1925, p. 149) gives the distribution as "Range Kara- 

 tau, north of Syr Daria," explaining that this is the "western con- 

 tinuation of the range Alexandrovskii." 



Severtzoff (1876, pp. 327-328) gives the following account: 



This species inhabits almost the entire Karatau ; it is abundant on the 

 summits of the Buguni, on the rocks near Marnin-saz, and on the western 

 portion of the Teramsk hills, where the numerous steep rocks and ravines 

 near the river Borolday afford good hiding-places to these animals. They 

 also occur on the summits of the Chayan mountains; further in a north- 

 westerly direction I met with them on the rocks of the Turlansky-Pereval ; 

 and, according to the native tribes living there, these sheep are abundant 

 also on the Min-Djelkey, the highest point of the Karatau mountains; and 

 are to be found even at the foot of these mountains, namely in the Kara- 

 murun hills, about 1000 feet high, and the steppes not above 1500 feet above 

 the level of the sea. . . . 



These sheep keep in very small flocks of from three to four individuals; 

 and often single females with a lamb are to be met with, and even single 

 males. This cannot be attributed to the usual habits of this species; but 

 the reason for this scattering is more to be looked for in the very rocky 

 nature of the parts of the Karatau mountains to which this sheep is driven 

 by the different nomad tribes of the Kirgies, with their numerous flocks and 

 herds. . . . 



O. nigrimontana . . . certainly is one of the smallest and weakest of the 

 whole group of the Central-Asiatic sheep. It is also very cautious and shy; 

 and the reason for this is easily found namely, the way in which it is con- 

 stantly driven out of its localities. 



Nasonov (1923, p. 70) records a considerable number of speci- 

 mens from the Karatau region. 



W. G. Heptner writes (in litt., December, 1936) that this sheep 

 is now rare in the Karatau. 



Severtzov's Sheep; Severtzov's Argali 



Ovis AMMON SEVERTZOVI Nasonov 



Ovis severtzovi Nasonov, Bull. Acad. Imper. Sci. St.-Petersbourg, ser. 6, vol. 8, 

 pt. 1, p. 761, 1914. ("Nuratau," in the southern part of the Kizil Kum 

 Desert northwest of Samarkand, Russian Turkestan.) 



FIGS.: Carruthers, 1909, p. 623, fig.; Lydekker, 1913c, vol. 1, p. 103, fig. 31; 

 Nasonov, 19146, fig. 1 (facing p. 764) and pis. 1-3; Carruthers, 19156, 

 pis. 56, 62; Nasonov, 1923, pi. 17; Ward, 1935, p. 288, fig. 



Airty-five years ago Carruthers wrote (1909, p. 623) : "These 

 sheep are not numerous, and only inhabit the extreme north- 

 western end of the Nurata Dagh." Probably their status has not 

 improved in the meantime. 



