b. P u n ja b R a c e—Ovis v ig n e i c ycloceros '
Ovis cycloceros, Hutton, Calcutta Journ. Nat. Hist. vol. ii. p. 5 14
(1842) ; P. L. Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc. i860, p. 128, pi. lxxx. 1887, p. 637 ;
Jerdon, Mamm. India, p. 294 (1867) ; Kinloch, Large Game Shooting, pt. i.
p. 29 (1869) ; Blanford, Eastern Persia, vo||: ii. p. 87 (1876) ; Sterndale,
Mamm. India, p. 435 (1884) ; Thomas, Trans. Linn. Soc. ser. 2, vol. v. p. 63
(1890) ; W. L. Sclater, Cat. Mamm. Ind. Mus. pt. ii. p. 138 (1891jc.lV'
Ovis arkal, Blasius, Sdugethiere Deutschlands, p. 469, figs. 243, 244 (1857).
Caprovis cycloceros, Gray, Cat. Ruminants, Brit. Mus. p. 55' (1872)-
Caprovis arkal, Gray, op. cit. p. 56 (1872).
CharactereSt-Size smaller than in the typical race, the height at the
shoulder seldom exceeding 32 inches. Horns usually slightly spiral,
forming a less open and more compact circle, with the tips convergent,
and thus approximated to the eyes ; the two front ridges frequently very
strongly developed and forming distinct nodose beadsj between which the
front surface of the horn is concave and carries bold and widely separated
transverse wrinkles.! Ruff on throat and chest very strongly developed,
and its upper front portion more or less completely white in old males.
That the urial, as this sheep is termed in the Salt Range and other
districts of the Punjab, is not entitled to specific separation from the sha of
Astor and Ladak, may be fully admitted ; but, at the same time, it seems
to have a distinct claim to be regarded as a more or less well-marked
small local race. I have never seen Astor or Ladak horns showing the
prominent bead-like front ridges displayed in the old male from Afghanistan
in the British Museum forming the subject of plate xiii. Although
many other specimens display similar heads, and equally pronounced and
widely separated transverse wrinkles on the front surface, it must not be
supposed that these features are distinctive of all individuals of this race ;
quite the contrary. For instance, in a younger mounted male specimen
from Peshawur in the British Museum the development of the two front
ridges o f the horns i|: comparatively slight, as is likewise the case in two
older mounted heads from Afghanistan in the same collection. All that
can be said is that similar prominent beads on the front angles of the horns,
and similar bold transverse ridges on the surface between them, appeal-
unknown in Astor and Ladak specimens. The differences cannot be
explained by differences in age. The specimen figured in plate xiii. is a
very old male, but some young specimens show equally strong front angles
t i t h e horns. On the other hand, the Peshawur specimen mentioned
above, in which the front angles are but slightly developed, is an immature
animal, while the heads in the British Museum from Afghanistan are those
of old individual» Horns of the latter type are, as Mr. Blanford points
B u t , very difficult to distinguish from those of the Ladak sha ; and in some
cases it may be impossible to refer .specimens to their proper race. '
It may be added that, in addition to the distinctive features indicated
above, very different physical conditions obtain in the typical habitats of
the two ; the Astor and Ladak animal dwelling at very high elevations,
where the winter temperature Jjf.qf excessive severity, whereas thqypther
form occurs in the hot low ranges of the Punjab, Sind, and neighbouring
districts. ‘
The sheep described under the name of Ovis arkal comes from the
Turkoman country, on the eastern precincts of the Caspian—that is to say,
from the neighbourhood of Khiva or Bokhara. Where the type skull
figured by Blasius is preserved, I have no means of knowing ; but the skull
and horns of a ram in the British Museum (No. 94, 5, 3 1, 2) from the
Turkoman country agrees with the figures given by Blasius, and doubtless
belongs to thejame form. It is clearly referable to the present species,
and as it shows the strongly marked and beaded front angles'.and bold
transverse ridges found in many horns of the Punjab race, coupled with
the fact that it is the latter which inhabits Afghanistan and Persia, it