152 DISTRIBUTION AND HABITS OF ARGALI SHEEP 



Horns of adult male shorter, their spiral seldom much 

 exceeding one complete circle ; the outer front angle in some 

 specimens completely rounded off at the base, but in other 

 examples sharp. 



Carruthers (Unknown Mongolia p. 570) states that the 

 first and most common variety in Tian-Shan is carelini, in 

 which the horns are more rounded in section than is the case 

 with poli, but only slightly more massive. There is rarely 

 any sign of the great nip -in of poli and never any of the 

 openness of the open type of poli. 



The average horn measurements of a fully adult care- 

 lini are : 



Length 52-55 ins. ; girth 15-16 ins. ; spread 32-36 ins. 

 Colonel Biddulph picked up a colossal carelini head close to 

 the Narat Pass in the Yuldus, in 1911 : it measures : length 

 70 j ins. ; girth 16| ins. and spread 46^ ins. Judging by 

 the appearance of this remarkable head, which rivals the 

 largest recorded head of poli, the sheep that carried it cannot 

 have died more than three years previously. 



Ovis littledalei. 



Regarding the body measurements and colour variation 

 of this type of wild sheep, Carruthers is of the opinion that 

 the carelini and littledalei do not differ in any important 

 respect, but that any slight variations are merely due to age- 

 and seasonal changes. 



It resembles the open poli type in the twist of the 

 horn, but this is considerably shorter in length, although 

 exceeding it in girth. Average length of horn of fully adult 

 ram 50-54 ins., girth 16-17 ins. and spread 44-48 ins. 



An imperfectly known variety. 



Exists and is apparently considerably rarer than the two 

 last named ones. It approximates to the O. hodgsoni, its 

 chief characteristics being great massiveness of horn, short 

 length and narrow spread. Colonel Biddulph who gives 

 information respecting this third variety, measured several 

 heads in the Western Yuldus and found them to average: 

 Length of horn 40-50 ins., girth 16-18 ins. and spread 

 17-20 ins. As this type of horn appears to differ just as 

 much from the other two as they do from one another, it 

 has every right to be considered a distinct variety (Carru- 

 thers, Unknown Mongolia, page 571). 



