Plate X V IIA .
Characters—Size large, the height at the shoulder reaching tj|about
3 feet 2 inches. Ears very small, abruptly truncated, and very thickly
haired ; no distinct mane on the nape of the neck ; hair much longer and
finer than in either of the foregoing races; and the white caudal disk
unusually small and not extending on to the upper surface of the hind-
Fio. 4.2.- Skuii and Korns of Kamschat-kan Bighorn. (Rowland Ward, Records o f B ig Gurnet)
quarters. Skull very short and broad, with the orbits much more prominent
than in the Rocky Mountain race, and the pits below them almost obsolete.
Horns of adult male generally similar to those of the Liard river and
Alaskan races, being slender, very smOoth, with a distinct keel on the
front outer angle, and the spiral comparatively open, so that the tip^
which are generally sharp and , entire, are directed largely outwards.
General colour of upper-parts (both in summer and autumn) grizzled
grayish-brown, becoming more distinctly gray on the head and neck than
elsewhere ; an ill-defined patch on the forehead below the eyes, and the
front of the legs rich uniform dark %own, as is the very broad stripe
extending from the dark of the back through the caudal disk to the tail ;
upper and under lip grayish-white ; caudal disk, middle of under-parts,
and a narrow line down the hinder surface of each leg white, there being
also .Some white on the lower part of the inner surface of the metatarsal
segment of the hind-legs. The white on the under-parts and posterior
wrface p f the legs is fairly well defined from the adjacent brown areas,
but not. so sharply as in liardensis, the amount B" white on the limbs
being much l§§fj3,.than in the two preceding races. In winter apparently
turning white, either in some districts or invariably. A full-grown ram
in goodi^ondition will weigh about (fjo lb%.if;>
The following dimensions of hornswif this race are given by Mr.
Rowland Ward ;—
Length along
Front Curve.
Basal
Circumference. • Tip to Tip.
38 1 26
■ f t ' *4 ) 2S
• 3.4-7 G f
n 34 U t 23f .
W ^ 3 * 23
i 3 4 14 ''
K-ijfi ■ 13# ' 21
3 4 I3 i 24
2p t' ■3«- 25i
Not having had the opportunityjplf seeing skulls of the three northern
races of American bighorns, I am unable tox say how far these differ from
that of the present form. The race is, however, sufficiently characterised
by the absence of a mane on the nape of the neck, the long and woolly
hair, the small size of the white caudal disk, the great w id th ^ f the
median dark streak by which it is traversed, and the narrowness of the
white area on the legs.
At the present time the British Museum possesses the mounted skin
of an immature male, which from the great length of the hair is evidently