MAMMALIA. 



85 



The two other species of sheep described by Severtzoff from Western Turkestan, O. heitisi 

 from near Tokmak, north of Lake Issyk, and 0. nigrimontana from the Kara tail or black 

 mountains, north-east of the Syr or Jaxartes, are smaller forms, but apparently more nearly 

 allied to 0. poll and 0. karelini than to any other species of wild sheep. It may not impro- 

 bably be found that intermediate varieties occur, and that all these forms of wild sheep are 

 merely races more or less completely differentiated. It should also be noticed that not only 

 are these closely allied species distinguished on very small data, but that Dr. Severtzoff's ideas 

 of specific distinction induce him to class apart forms which other naturalists do not separate. 



The other known Central Asiatic wild sheep of the true Argali type, omitting doubtful 

 forms, are 0. amnion} (vera=0. argali, 2 Pall.) formerly inhabiting the Altai mountains and 

 Dauria, but now supposed to be almost confined to part of Northern Mongolia, O. jubata * 

 from north of Pekin, 0. hodgson'^ (the O. amnion of Anglo-Indians generally) from the Tibetan 

 plateau, and 0. brookei, 5 of uncertain derivation, besides O. nivicola 6 from Kamtschatka, nearly 

 allied to the American O. montana. O. vignei, O. gmelini, 0. cycloceros and then allies form 

 another group of species found in South-Western Asia and the Mediterranean area. 



53. OVIS NAHTTRA, PI. XIV. 



0. nayaur, Hodgs., As. Res., xviii, Pt. l Z, p. 135, partim. 

 0. nahoor, Hodgs., J. A. S. B., 1835, iv, p. 492. 



0. burrhel, Blyth, P. Z. S., 1840, p. 67.— Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 1, vii, p. 248.— J. A. S. B., 1841, x, 

 p. 868. 



Ovis nahura, Hodgs., apud Gray, List. Spec. Mam. B. M. (1843), p. 170. 



Pseudois nahoor, Hodgs., J. A. S. B., 1846, xv, p. 343.— Gray, Cat. Mam. B. M., Ung. Fur., p. 177 



(1852).— Adams, P. Z. S., 1858, p. 527.— Prejevalski, Pet. Mitt., Erg. Hft., No. 53, pp. 5, 17. 

 Ovis nahura, Blyth, Cat. Mam. Mus. As. Soc, p. 178. — Jerdon, Mam. Ind., p. 296. 

 0. nahoor, A. Milne-Edwards, Rech. Mam., I, p. 357, PI. LXVIII, LXIX. 



1 $ , near Tarn, Sanju valley, Kuenlun range. 



As pointed out by Jerdon, Blyth appears to have ultimately considered his Ovis burrhel 

 identical with O. nahura, although at first he looked upon it as distinct on account of the 

 darker colour and more rounded horns, but these differences are apparently due to age and 

 season. 



The name has been spelt in various ways — nayaur, nahoor, nahur, and nahura. I have 

 adhered to the last, because it has been adopted by J erdon and Blyth, and because nayaur, the 

 oldest name, was corrected by Hodgson himself. I may add that the name appears to have 

 been given altogether in error, for Hodgson in his original paper in the Asiatic Transactions, 

 Vol. XVIII, Pt. 2, pp. 133, 134, states that the native name for the Ovis amnion is bharal, and 

 for the smaller Himalayan sheep nayaur. In truth, the reverse is the case, as is well known, 

 and Hodgson must have confounded the two. Perhaps it would be more convenient to drop 



1 Linn., Syst. Nat,, 1766, Ed. xii, p. 97. 



2 Spic. Zool., fasc. xi, p. 21. 



3 Peters., Monatsber. K. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1876, p. 177, Pis. 1—4. 



4 Blyth, P. Z. S., 1840, p. 65. 



5 Ward. P. Z. S., 1874, p. 143. 



6 Esch., Zool. Atlas, p. 71, (1829.) 



