30 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



behind this angle is much shorter than the part 

 in front ; the occipital plane is flattened ; and the 

 profile of the face is more or less markedly convex, 

 this feature attaining its maximum development in 

 some of the domesticated breeds. 



In goats, on the other hand, the occipital and 

 frontal planes meet at a more obtuse angle,^ the 

 occipital and parietal area is saddle-shaped, the 

 portions of the skull behind and in front of this 

 angle are more nearly equal in length, and the 

 profile of the face is concave. In some goat-skulls 

 there is an unossified space in the neighbourhood 

 of the lachrymal (see figure of sheep's skull on 

 p. 20), but this is not constant for all the species, 

 and tends to become obliterated with age. 



As already mentioned, in the majority of the 

 species of wild goats the spiral of the horns is in 

 the reverse direction to that characteristic of sheep ; 

 and it may be added that the horns of the typical 

 wild goat, the various species of ibex, and the 

 markhor differ very decidedly in form from those 

 of the more typical sheep. On the other hand, 

 as has likewise been noticed above, the horns of 

 the aberrant blue sheep or bharal of Tibet are 

 essentially similar in direction and form to those 

 of Pallas's tur of the Caucasus, which is an aberrant 

 goat. 



' See Blanford, Fauna of British India, Afatnmalia, pp. 493, 508. 

 Owen, loc. cit., states that sheep have the larger angle. 



