UNGULATA. 597 



gus], which inhabits the Alps and other -mountain-ranges of 

 southern Europe. Amongst the more remarkable Antelopes 

 may be mentioned the Prong-buck (Antilocapra Americana} of 

 N. America, in which there are no accessory hoofs, lachrymal 

 sinuses, or inguinal pores ; the females are hornless, and the 

 horns of the male have a snag or branch in front. The horns 

 are also very remarkable for the fact that their sheath is 

 annually shed, and annually reproduced. Another curious 

 form is the Chickara (A. quadricornis) of India, in which the 

 females are hornless, but the males have four horns. 



The Sheep and Goats (Ovidce) have mostly horns in both 

 sexes, and the horns are generally curved, compressed, and 

 turned more or less backwards. The body is heavier, and the 

 legs shorter and stouter, than in the true Antelopes. In the 

 true Goats (Capra) both sexes have horns, and there are no 

 lachrymal sinuses. The throat is furnished with long hair, 

 forming a beard ; and this appendage is usually present in both 

 sexes, though sometimes in the males only. The goats live 

 in herds, usually in mountainous and rugged districts. The 

 domestic Goat (Capra hircus) is generally believed to be a de- 

 scendant of a species which occurs in a wild state in Persia 

 and in the Caucasus (the " Paseng," or Capra agagrus). The 

 true Sheep (Ovis) are destitute of a beard, and the horns are 

 generally twisted into a spiral. Horns may be present in 

 both sexes, or in the males only.* Lachrymal sinuses are in- 

 variably absent. Numerous varieties of the domestic sheep 

 (Ovis aries) are known, but it is not certainly known from what 

 wild species these were originally derived. Some, at any rate, 

 of the domesticated breeds, more especially the smaller short- 

 tailed breeds, with crescent-shaped horns, appear to be de- 

 scended from the wild species known as the " Moufflon," which 

 is found in Corsica and Sardinia. The Merino Sheep (a 

 Spanish breed) and the Thibet Sheep are particularly cele- 

 brated for their long and fine wool. With the exception of 

 one species (the Big-horn, Ovis montana), all the Sheep appear 

 to be originally natives of the Old World. The Big-horn, how- 

 ever, inhabits the Rocky Mountains from their termination in 

 latitude 68 to 40. 



The true Oxen (JBovidce) are distinguished by having simply 

 rounded horns, which are not twisted in a spiral manner. 

 There are no lachrymal sinuses. Most of the oxen admit of 

 being more or less completely domesticated, and some of them 

 are amongst the most useful of animals, both as beasts of 



* In the Merino Sheep, and in some other breeds also, the males only 

 are horned. 



* 



