CAVICORNIA. 377 
Table of dimensions (in millimeters), 











5 ee ie oe &> Ovits aries, recent 
Seagal Ss 83 & specimen. 
Some SH | Se. 
Anau aod Ss Syeae 
, ro Ss wo = 
Skull. +34 ft. |< 8 oe SE A SE ey Cae. 
sues Ssg Be 3 | cogne. Ireland. 
1S S S 
Greatest lencthrotp basen ca accent oe > ile s 185 okie 190 214 212 197 
Lateral length of frontal (bregma to orbita).. .. 57 eee 63 80 74 75 
Length of molars of upper maxilla........... 35 39 45 48 43 44 
Kenguaror premolarsas 6. o5. seks ce erer sou: F 26 oT 21 25 19 19 
Sagittal length of frontal bones............. : 82 7 80 2 g2 82 
Erie OnRIgit ge cae. daa a sith ed 5 eee % 30 Sete oly) Bg 2 2 
BALICL ALS WiC himeentey oie Sockets atact eel cans a es 59 52 61 71 53 65 
Srealect Nersitt Of SKU mere mia are sete os Sap fH) Meee: 86 104 72 78 
Greatest neightrOr OCCLpPilt ae vein teniene te «| «ie. 2 2 59 48 48 
Weastaneic nt Ofcame sarees oe tee ete ele nck a aust 37 38 43 33 2 
(sreatest width of occiput.) 0.06 vy aioe: wee os 65 66 76 67 67 
east awidtiol cameras \isteree eters crs as, 42 | 43 55 44 41 
eastawidth ol 1rOmbearienrs + tira aaeye pte, «et 65 ene 66 68 63 69 
Greatestuwidthvorsamess ters. 6 as tae caertee. 104 108 109 119 117 119 
Distaneeibetween orbitals. a. 6.20 2. 2266s +4 sie see 75 71 77 76 77 
Width of palate behind molar y....5......... 48 39 45 58 50 52 
Width of palate in front of premolar 1........ 2 AG 2 26 2 2 
| 




This apparent resemblance does not, however, permit us to assume a rela- 
tionship to one of these forms, for it is readily seen from my former investigations 
into the influence of horns upon the shaping* of the skull, that the absence of 
horns produces uniform characteristics and that while considerable variance may 
exist in the absolute craniological dimensions, the relative dimensions always 
remain the same. Now, what can this hornless sheep form be, and whence can 
it have come? The bone remains give us no information on these points; and 
we must, therefore, resort to deduction and inference. 
Let us first examine the recent races of sheep of Turkestan. The Central 
Asiatic steppes harbor only two races of sheep, which are generally designated: 
(a) The fat-buttocked sheep (Ovis aries steatopyga Fitz); (b) the fat-tailed 
sheep (Ovis aries platyura Fitz). 
Ovis aries steatopyga is characterized by a posterior overloaded with fat, 
which on the buttocks projects upward in the form of a fatty protuberance which 
is split in the middle. The ram of this breed has horns of medium length which 
are thick and strong at the root and grow narrower towards the blunt point. 
The horns, without rising above the crown of the head, form, in winding, a double 
snail-shaped revolution back, down, and forwards. In the ewes and the wethers 
the horns are smaller and weaker, and curved only backwards and forwards. 
There occur at times four-horned and even five-horned rams in this race of sheep ; 
and, on the other hand, we find here and there hornless females. 



* Experimentelle Studien ueber die Morphogenie des Schaedels der Cavicornia. Vierteljahresschrift 
d. Naturf. Gesell. Ziirich, Jahrg. 1903, p. 360. 
