OVIS MUSMON. 143 



Ovis Musmon. 



Ovis Aries, Desm. Mamm. Sp. 741. 



Ovis Musmon, Keyserling tmd Blasius, Wirbelth. Europ. 

 " Ovis Mimmon, Schinz, Europ. Faun. vol. i. p. 88. 

 Capra Musmon, Buon. Faun. Ital. 

 Muffione of Sardinia, Muffoli of Corsica. 

 The Wild Sheep, or Musmon. 



Description. — Horns very large and strong, wrinkled prin- 

 cipally at their base, arching backwards, and curled round, 

 of a greyish-yellow colour ; ears moderate, straight, pointed, 

 only a trace of tear-furrow j body compact, muscular, 

 rounded ; tail very short, naked beneath ; under-fur woolly, 

 fine, grey, and twisted like a corkscrew ; the upper fur is 

 silky, but short and rather stiff; general colour of the 

 upper parts and outside of legs dull rufous, mixed with 

 some black hairs ; a line along the back of a darker 

 colour ; the under part of the neck to the chest, the lower 

 part of the fore-legs in front, and the tail, as well as the 

 front and sides of the face, blackish ; a line of the same 

 colour extends from one corner of the mouth to the other, 

 passing below the eye ; a space beneath the eyes, the belly, 

 a patch on each side of the tail, and the edges of the tail 

 are white ; on the middle of each flank is a large spot of 

 very pale rufous ; the inside of the mouth, the tongue, and 

 the nostrils are black. In winter the fur becomes darker 

 and more dense. The female differs from the male by the 

 smaller size of her horns, or more commonly by their en- 

 tire absence ; and is altogether smaller than the other sex. 



Length of head and body (male), 3 feet 4 inches ; tail, 

 3| inches ; horns, 1 foot 11 inches ; height at the most 

 elevated part of the back, 2 feet 3 to 5 inches. 



The Musmon inhabits the highest and least accessible 

 mountains, but always in temperate climates ; it lives in 

 herds, which are sometimes composed of one hundred in- 



