366 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



In his recent review, Cowan (1940) regards the Texas and 

 the Arizona bighorn as insufficiently distinguished, while 0. 

 sheldoni of Sonora is based on a 'runt' or dwarfed individual, 

 as pointed out by Dr. H. H. T. Jackson (in Ely and others, 

 1939). 



The range is from extreme southwestern Texas, southern 

 New Mexico, and Arizona south across northwestern Chi- 

 huahua and in Sonora to Seriland opposite Tiburon Island. 

 Northward it intergrades with neighboring races. 



This race of mountain sheep was formerly found in the most 

 arid desert ranges of western Texas in the San Andreas and 

 Guadalupe Mountains and on the western slopes of the latter 

 range in extreme eastern New Mexico as well as in eastern 

 Chihuahua. Its numbers and distribution are now greatly 

 reduced. Bailey (1905, 1931) has given a good summary of 

 notes he obtained as to the status. In 1912-14 the number of 

 these sheep in eastern New Mexico was estimated at 200 in 

 the Guadalupe Mountains, but a more thorough census in 

 1916 resulted in a count of about 100 or less. "All the reports 

 from the Sacramento, Capitan, and Jicarilla Mountains assert 

 that no sheep have been known in these ranges in modern 

 times." To the northwest oJ the Guadalupe Range, in the 

 San Andreas Mountains of New Mexico, there were a very few 

 left in 1902, according to Gaut who made a special trip in 

 search of them and as late as 1914 located about 30. At the 

 same time he was "informed that sheep formerly were found 

 along the crest of the Organ Mountains, but that none had 

 been seen there in recent years." On account of the accessi- 

 bility of their range, they were much hunted over this region, 

 and Bailey in 1931 concluded that within the limits of New 

 Mexico this race is now to be found only on the Guadalupe and 

 San Andreas Ranges. He believes that "with adequate pro- 

 tection for a term of years the mountain sheep could doubtless 

 be brought back to its original range and abundance. The 

 difficulty of enforcing game laws, however, in these uninhabited 

 mountains is almost insurmountable, and wholly so without 

 the full cooperation of the resident population. The fact that 

 these sheep occupy land that will always remain practically 

 worthless for stock raising or other agricultural purposes makes 

 it doubly important that their numbers should be increased. " 

 Since now the "whole summit and eastern slope of the Guada- 



