396 



RECORDS OF BIG GAME 



Head of Marco Polo's Sheep. From Mr. David T. Hanbury's specimen. 



MAECO POLO'S SHEEP (Ovis poll). 



In common with the following members of the genus Ovis, this 

 splendid sheep has the transverse wrinklings of the horns well developed, 

 and glands present on the face, with pits for their reception in the 

 skull. In the present species the horns of the adult rams are charac- 

 terised by their comparative slenderness and great length, forming a 

 spiral of more than one complete circle, with the front angles typically 

 well developed. The hind-quarters show a large amount of white, 

 extending over the greater part of the thighs ; and in winter the throat 

 is furnished with a voluminous ruff of long white hairs, which dis- 

 appears in summer. Height at shoulder about 4 feet, or perhaps 

 rather less ; weight of adult male about 22 stone. 



Distribution. Typically the plateau of the Pamirs in Central Asia, 

 but represented by a closely allied race (O. poll karelini) in the 

 Thian Shan range of Turkestan, in which the horns are generally 

 somewhat shorter, and may have the front outer angle rounded off. 

 This sheep was first definitely made known in England by 



