QUATEENAET FAUNA OP GIBEALTAE. llT 



cites the form as a " Bouquetin ;" and there are no good grounds to believe, more 

 than in the case of the Chamois, Saiga, Reindeer, Horse, &c., that it differs speci- 

 fically from the living form or forms now inhabiting the Alps and Pyrenees. 



Having thus traced in one form or another the existence of a large form of Goat 

 back to a very remote period, it remains to inquire to which of these the Gibraltar 

 remains belonff. 



c 



The remains of two well-marked caprine ruminants abound in the collections from 

 Windmill Hill — one of much larger size than the other, and whose remains are more 

 numerous even than those of Cervus, and a smaller one, whose remains occur but very 

 very sparingly, and, as it would seem, not among the most ancient forms. 



Although there can be no doubt of its belonging to the subgenus Ibex of some 

 authors, some difficulty has been experienced, and some doubt perhaps may still be 

 entertained, with respect to the exact identification of the larger of these caprine 

 species. This difficulty in the main arises from the circumstance that we at present 

 are not in possession of sufficiently minute and accurate knowledge of the osteological 

 differences between the supposed distinct European species of Ibex, which have been 

 defined chiefly from external characters alone, included among which are the form and 

 direction of growth of the horns. 



As in the case of the fossil or subfossilized form we have little or no information on 

 these points, the principal means of comparison, as things at present stand, are wanting. 

 It is true that, as regards the important character afforded by the horns, some little 

 information may be gathered from the horn-cores. This is less than might at first 

 sight be expected ; for the sbape of the horn, so far as my observation has extended, can 

 be only very distantly surmised from that of its core. In the case of a fully developed 

 male, there is no doubt that we may trace characteristic features in the cores, more 

 especially as to the presence or absence of a spiral twist ; but in that of the cores 

 belonging to female skulls I apprehend that very close similarity will be found to exist 

 between the two marked varieties or species of European Ibex. Unfortunately, so far 

 as I can perceive, all the horn-cores that have been procured in the Gibraltar collection 

 are of the small size and, as it may be termed, featureless character belonging to those 

 of the female. 



As, however, it will be seen that I have endeavoured to arrive at some distinctive 

 characters from other particulars in the bones, I would say a few words with respect to 

 the still perhaps not altogether settled point concerning the number of so-termed 

 European species belonging to the Ibex group. 



Whilst some writers, as Blasius, appear inclined to regard the Alpine and Pyrenean 

 Ibex as merely varieties, distinguished mainly by the curvature of the horns and the 

 presence or absence of a beard, and to look at Capra hispariica of Schimper as a sub- 

 variety of the Pyrenean, by others these three forms have been considered specifically 

 distinct. 



VOL. X. — PART II. No. 9. — August 1st, 1877. k 



