898 MK. It. I. pococK ON THE [June 14, 



.Siil>family S A i G i N ^. 



Genus Saiga Gray. 



Saiga tartaric a Linn. (The Saiga.) 

 According to Dr. Miirie (P. Z. S. 187U, p. 500) this animal has a 

 pair of small preorbitiil glandnlar pits ; a pair of car-pal or knee 

 glands ; a pair of shallow inguinal pouches in one specimen 

 examined, but not in another, a younger example, although the 

 secretory ai'ea was very evident ; and pedal glands in all four 

 feet. These are described as "about 1| inch in depth and 

 opening by a narrow constricted aperture " at the " front and 

 upper part " of the foot. Although on p. 502 of this memoir 

 Dr. ISIurie lemarks that these glands " hardly form satisfactory 

 grounds for basing affinity upon," it is nevei-theless quite 

 clear from his description of the pedal glands that they are 

 much more like those of a Sheep than of a Gazelle or Bhu-k- 

 buck. The description is not sufficiently detailed to permit 

 the conclusion that the pedal glands exactly resemble those of 

 Ovis ; but it is quite certain that with their narrow constricted 

 orifice they bear no similarity to the long interdigital cleft of 

 Gazella or Antilope. Theii- structuie, in fact, bears out Dr. Murie's 

 opinion that the Saiga may be regai'ded as an Antelopine Sheep. 



In any case, it seems evident that the genus is an isolated one. 

 I think, thei-efore, that it should form, provisionally at all events, 

 the type of a special subfamily. 



Subfamily P A N T H o L o r I N ^. 

 Genus Pantholops Hodgn. 



Pantholops hodgsoxi Abel. (The Ohiru.) 

 (Text-fig. 101, C, p. 886.) 



In 1836 Hodgson (P. Z. S. 1836, p. 39) described the inguinal 

 glands as " exceedingly large sacs which hang by a long narrow 

 neck from the groin." He re-affirmed the same fact in otiier 

 words in his paper in 1847, where he adds that preorbitiil glands 

 are absent, but the pedal glands are present and large on all four 

 feet. Blanford and Lydekker ivpeat his observations, without 

 alluding to the pendent inguinal glands, while the latter supple- 

 ments his account with Kinloch's observation that these glands 

 penetrate a considerable distance into the body. 



Hodgson's statement a.s to the pendulous nature of the inguinal 

 gliuids is puzzling. It is hardly likely that they c^in be volun- 

 tarilv (n'ersible and retractile, and I can only supjiose that he saw 

 them hanging as loo.se sacs on a .stri))ped .skin. 



The only material of this species 1 h;ive been aliU- to exMuiine 

 fully was a mounted head and two feet, fore and hind, of a male 

 specimen, for which my be.st thanks are due to Mr. Edward 



