THE HOOFED MAMMALS. 



157 



more or less divided backward curvature. Although it may be much reduced 

 in size, there ia generally a gland beneath each of the eyes ; the short and 

 tapering tail is well-haired above, the hoofs are relatively large, and the 

 whole build is heavy and clumsy. In form the molar teeth resemble those 

 of the goats ; and the skull generally has a depression, but no fissure, below 

 each eye. From its allies, the chamois is readily distinguished by the 

 peculiar hooked form of the horns, which rise close together almost vertically 

 from the forehead, and then curve suddenly back in the well-known hook. 

 The muzzle is hairy, and the gland beneath the eye small. In height, a 

 chamois does not stand more than a couple of feet at the withers. Chamois 

 are inhabitants of the high Alpine regions immediately below the snow-line ; 

 and although they were formerly met with in large herds, in most of their 

 habitats their numbers have been greatly reduced by constant persecution, 

 while from some districts they have completely disappeared. Their mar- 

 vellous powers of leaping are familiar to all. In the Himalaya, Malay 

 countries, parts of China, and Japan, the place of the chamois is taken by 

 the allied but larger and more clumsily-built animals known as serows 

 {Nemorlicedus), of which there are several species. From the former they 

 are readily distinguished by the finely-wrinkled and sharply-tapering black 

 horns having no distinct hocjk at the extremities. The ears are large, the fur 

 is coarse and long, and the gland below the eye small. The Himalayan 

 species is found in thick bush afc moderate elevations, and is a marvellous 

 adept at getting over the roughest ground at a rapid pace. ^Nearly allied are 

 the smaller animals known as goral (Oemas), of which the typical representa- 

 tive is met with in the outer ranges of the Himalaya, while other forms 

 occur in Eastern Tibet, Northern China, and Amurland. They differ from 

 the serows in lacking a gland beneath the eye, and also in the conformation 

 of the skull. One of the most remarkable members of the group is the 

 takin {Budorcas taxicolor) of the Mishmi Hills in Assam, and Eastern 

 Tibet, which may be compared to a very large, rough-haired, and reddish- 

 coloured serow, with greatly developed smooth horns, whose size and curva- 

 ture strongly recalls those of the gnus. Scarcely anything is known of 

 these animals in a wild state, although they are probably sufficiently common 

 in their native haunts. Another nearly allied form ia the so-called Rooky 

 Mountain goat {Haploceros montanus) 

 of North America, which is one of 

 the very few American representa- 

 tives of the hollow-horned ruminants. 

 It ia likewise one of the few animals 

 which are permanently white at all 

 seasons of the year, its coat being very 

 long and shaggy, and forming a mott 

 striking contrast to the jet-black horns 

 and hoofs. The horns, which are set 

 close together and curve somewhat 

 backwards, are distinctly compressed 

 at their bases ; the ears are small, and 

 there ia no gland below the eyes. The 

 most remarkable structural peculiarity about the animal h, however, the 

 extreme shortness of the cannon-bones in both the fore and hind feet, which 

 in this respect are quite unlike those of any other ruminants. 

 The next group of the Bovidce is formed by the goats and sheep, wnich are 



Fig. 87.> — ItocKT Mountain Goat 

 {Uaploceros ni<nitainitf). 



