i86 THE SHEEP AND ITS COUSINS 



Closely allied to the fat-tailed group are the long- 

 tailed Arabian, Colchian, and Circassian sheep to 

 which the French naturalist Desmarest gave the name 

 Ovis aries dolichura. Dr. Fitzinger, indeed, held 

 the opinion that all the types of these long-tailed 

 sheep are distinguished from the fat-tailed group by 

 the much greater length of the tail, which always 

 reaches the ground ; but, as we have seen, this 

 appendage may have a similar development in the 

 Africander fat-tailed breed, and it seems evident 

 that the sheep to which Fitzinger ^ gave the name 

 of long-tailed Syrian breed are nothing more than 

 individuals of the fat-tailed Syrian sheep with a 

 similar excessive development of the tail, since the 

 under surface of the latter has the bare area, 

 bordered by longitudinal lateral grooves, distinctive 

 of the fat-tailed group. 



In the Arabian, or Bedouin, sheep, on the other 

 hand, the tail, which sweeps the ground, is cylindri- 

 cal and covered with wool all round. The small and 

 sharply pointed ears are directed laterally outwards, 

 and the head and eyes are likewise of relatively 

 small size, while the degree of convexity of the 

 nose is slight. As a rule, horns are developed 

 in the rams alone. The ears, face, and shanks are 

 covered with short, shining hair, and the body with 

 moderately long, fine, soft, and silky wool. In the 

 matter of colour there is considerable variation, but 



» Op. cit, p. i8o. 



