THE HOOFED MAMMALS. 



159 



which are not found southwards of the Himalaya. Three out of these are 

 included in the genus Capra ; while the other two have much shorter horns, 

 and are referred to a second genus. The pasang or Persian wild goat 

 (C. cegagrus) is a western form only extending into India on its western side, 

 where it is met with in Baluchistan and Sind. It is easily recognised by the 

 sharp edge of its scimitar-like horns ; and is considered to be the ancestral 

 stock from which the domesticated breeds of goat have been derived. The 

 Himalayan ibex is generally regarded as identical with the ibex of Siberia and 

 the Thian Shan (G. sibirica), although it has been thought that it may be dis- 

 tinct. It differs from the pasang by the front of the horns of the bucks being 

 flattened and marked by bold knots. Further information is required about 

 a dark-coloured ibex from Baltistan, which has been considered to be merely 

 the common species in its winter dress, but this is not yet ascertained with 

 certainty. There is also much uncertainty 

 about an ibex of which three specimens 

 have been obtained probably from the 

 upper Kishanganga Valley in Kashmir ter- 

 ritory characterised by the marked out- 

 ward curvature of the horns, and the ab- 

 sence of knobs except near their tips. The 

 markhor ((7. falconeri) is easily recognised 

 by its spirally twisted horns ; and zoologists 

 are now satisfied that, in spite of the great 

 difference in the form of the spiral of their 

 horns, all the varieties belong to a single 

 species. The two remaining Indian wild 

 goats are the Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus 

 jemlaicus) and the so-called Nilgiri ibex 

 (Hemitragus hylocrius). Both differ from 

 the true goats by their comparatively short 

 horns; and they are further distinguished 

 by having a small naked area at the end of 

 the muzzle. The Nilgiri wild goat differs 

 from the tahr by having the outer side of its 

 horns convex, and not passing into a sharp 

 ridge in front; while the latter is distinguished from all other goats and 

 sheep by the presence of four teats in the females. A third species of the 

 same genus inhabits the Muscat district of Southern Arabia. The sheep 

 ( Ovis) are connected with the sheep-like goats, such as Capra cylindricornis of 

 the Caucasus, by means of the bharal of Tibet and the North African arui, or 

 Barbary sheep, both of which differ from the more typical representatives of 

 their genus by the absence of a gland below the eye. and their smooth, olive- 

 coloured horns; although they resemble other sheep in having glands between 

 the hoofs of both the fore and hind feet. As a group, sheep are character- 

 ised by the massive horns of the rams curving backwards and downwards in 

 a bold sweep, with the tips generally turned inwards, while they are usually 

 marked with more or less prominent transverse ridges. Except in the 

 two species named, their colour is brownish, and there is a small gland 

 on the face below the eye, with a corresponding shallow depression in the 

 skull. All the feet have glands between their hoofs ; the chin is devoid of 

 a beard, although there may be a ruff of long hair on the throat ; and the 

 rams have not the unpleasant odour characteristic of the males of the goats. 



Fig. 87. THE MARKHOB 

 ( Capra falconeri). 



