208 DR. J. SCULLY ON THE MAMMALS OF GILGIT. [Jail. 18, 



ill all external chaiacters, with the type of that species preserved in 

 the British Museum. 



In the 'Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' 1877, ii. 

 pp. 324-326, Mr. Blanford described, as a new species, a Hare ob- 

 tained by Major Biddulph in Yassin, under the name of L. biddulphi. 

 So far as it is possible to arrive at a conclusion on such a point with- 

 out actual examination of the type, I believe that L. biddulphi is the 

 same as L. tibetanus ; and I will briefly give my reasons for this 

 opinion. 



Mr. Blanford considers that Lepus biddulphi closely approaches 

 L. tibetanus, but differs in some cranial characters, which he details 

 at length, the skulls of L. tibetmms which he uses for his com- 

 parison being those of the Hare inhabiting the Nubra valley in 

 Ladak. But the type of L. tibetanus was obtained in the neighbour- 

 hood of Iskardo, a point midway between Yassiu and the Nubra 

 valley ; so that if there be a specific difference between the Yassin 

 and Nubra Hares, it is quite as likely that the latter would require a 

 new name as the former : the skull of the type of L. tibetanus is 

 not available for examination. Further, there is now in the British 

 Museum a specimen of a Hare collected by Major Biddulph in 

 Yassin, in September 1876, at an elevation of 7000 feet. This must 

 have been obtained in the very same valley as the type of L. bid- 

 dulphi, and in the same month. This example agrees perfectly in 

 external characters with my Gilgit specimens, with the type of 

 L. tibetanus, and with the Nubra-valley Hare. 



Dr. Giinther kindly allowed the skull of the Yassin Hare men- 

 tioned above and one of the Nubra specimens to be extracted for 

 examination ; and I found that the first agreed well with my Gilgit 

 specimens, and only differed slightly from the Nubra-valley skull in 

 haying the posterior ends of the nasals less rounded and the parietals 

 a little flatter. In all these specimens the nasals extend backwards 

 some distance beyond the posterior terminations of the praemaxillse. 

 I believe that the Hares from the Nubra valley, Iskardo, Gilgit, 

 and Yassin are not specifically separable. 



UNGULATA. 



29. Capra siBiRiCA, Meyer. 



Capra sibiriea, Meyer, Zool. Aiinal. i. 397 (1794). 



The Himalayan Ibex is common in the Astor valley, the Gilgit 

 district, Nagar, Hunga, and Yassin. It inhabits a higher zone than 

 the Markhor (Capi-a falconeri), well above the forest-region, where 

 occasional grassy slopes are to be found near the crests of the moun- 

 tains. In a large series of horns of this animal, from the countries 

 mentioned above, a considerable variation in curvature is found ; and 

 in some specimens the points of the horns converge, while in others 

 they diverge ; but these variations obviously do not indicate any 

 specific difference. The very dark Himalayan Ibex occasionally 

 mentioned by authors are merely old males in winter vesture, and 

 are not confined to any particular locality. 



