14 W. T. Blanford — On the Scientific Names of [No. 1, 



Giildenstadt, Act. Petrop. 1779, t. 16-17 ■ second ■ H. Smith, Griffith, A. 

 K. V. 871. The first is the original description of Gapra Caucasica, an 

 animal differing widely from C. cegagrus, and having massive horns not 

 angulate in front. To the second I shall refer immediately. 



In the next British Museum Catalogue, that of the Ungulates, Furci~ 

 peda published in 1852, p. 153, the Gapra Caucasica of the former catalogue 

 is placed as a synonym under Hircus cegagrus, under which name both the 

 cegagrus of Pallas and the tame goat, Gapra hircus of Linnaeus, are included, 

 as they were by Gmelin, and again reference is made to Col. Hamilton 

 Smith's description in Griffith's Animal Kingdom. It thus appears that 

 Dr. Gray, the author of both British Museum catalogues, attributes the 

 mistake about the name to Col. Hamilton Smith. But on turning to 

 Griffith's Animal Kingdom, V, p. 357, I find No. 870, Gapra Caucasica de- 

 scribed as having '' the horns triangular, the anterior edge obtuse, irregularly 

 marked with transverse knots and uniform wrinkles," while G. cegagrus is 

 quite correctly said to have the " horns forming an acute angle to the front, 

 rounded at the back, transversely ribbed, forming an undulating anterior 

 edge." It appears to me that the species were correctly discriminated by 

 the older writer, and that the mistake of confounding them is Dr. Gray's. 



Dr. Adams obtained the name G. Caucasica from the British Museum, 

 and thus misled Jerdon, who, it may be seen, mentions in his Mammals, p. 

 292, that Gapra cegagrus is found in Persia and other parts of Central and 

 "Western Asia ; whilst on Adams's authority, though evidently with some 

 doubt, he refers the wild goat of Sind and Baluchistan to C. Caucasica. 



The synonymy given below will shew the confusion which has existed 

 at the British Museum as to the name of this species. It figures by 

 turns as Gapra Caucasica, C. hircus, Hircus mgagrus, and -if I am not mis- 

 taken Hircus gazella. Part of this confusion is I think due to the circum- 

 stance that Dr. Gray apparently looked upon the horns of G. cegagrus as 

 those of a tame or feral race, and consequently united them with various 

 tame goats. I have shewn that the wild O. cegagrus was united to the 

 tame C. hircus by Gmelin, and the same author apparently mixed up half 

 a dozen animals, one of which was the bezoar goat of Persia, in his Antilope 

 gazella* 



Indian naturalists of a former generation were better acquainted with 

 the wild goat of Western Asia than Dr. Gray appears to have been. The first 

 mention that I can find of the existence of Gapra cegagrus in the neighbour- 

 hood of India is in a paper by Captain Hutton published in the Calcutta 

 Journal of Natural History for 1842, where the animal is correctly named, 

 and an excellent description given of its colour at different seasons, its 

 appearance and habits. The accompanying figure is not good. Captain 

 * Copra gazella of Linnseus is, I believe, the Cape Oryx. 



