1875. WILD GOAT OF ASIA MINOR. 465 
old, it stands second both in length and weight, while the distance 
between the points, viz. 27 inches, is the greatest width with which 
I am acquainted. There seems also to be a slight tendency to a 
spiral form, which makes me doubt whether it is the head of a pure 
/Egagrus. 
Horns are probably produced during the first year in the female 
as wellas in the male; but their development is comparatively slight, 
vas 
Capra egagrus, typical form, male. 
very little keel is formed, and the yearly growths are not nearly so 
distinct. Old female horns measured by Dr. Brandt and Mr. 
Hutton were 13 inches long, and the largest horn of my collection, 
from an animal about six years old, is 12 inches long, with a girth of 
4 inches. The inward tendency of the points seems to be generally 
less in the female than in the male (figs. 3, 4). 
Regarding the use of the great horns carried by the Ibex family, 
the general idea among the older authors was that they were 
employed to break the animals fall in leaping from a_height. 
Pennant relates (Hist. Quadr. vol. i. p. 57) that Monardes was 
witness to the wild Goat saving itself in this way; and Gesner says 
(Hist. Animal. p. 332), “cadens ab alto totum corpus inter cornua 
protegit a collisione et ictus lapidum magnorum excipit cornibus.” 
This view is confirmed by Mr. Hutton, whose tame Aigagrus re- 
peatedly used his horns for this purpose (Cale. Jour. vol. ii. p, 524). 
Proc. Zoou. Soc.—1875, No. XXX. 30 
