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Show 198 MAMMALIA. CAPRA, Lin. The horns o f th e G oat s are directed upwards and backwa. rds; the chin genera1 1 y f urm· s bed with a long beard, and the chanfrm almost always concave. II ( 1 ' C. regragus~ Gm .,. Cuv· Menag. du Mus. Svo, , 177. he 1IJ • Wild Goat.) Appears to be the stock of all the .a.gagrus ot . . . · h d b · van·e t1· es o f o ur Domestic Goat. It 1s d1stmgu1s e y 1ts h orns, t rene hant in front ' very large in the male; s. hort, or altogether wanting in the female, wh.ich ~s also somet1mes the case in the two species of Ibex. It lives m herds on the mountains of Persia, (where it is known by the na~e of paseng,) and perhaps on those of other countries, even. m t?e Alps. The oriental bezoar is a concretion found in its mtestt~es. The Goats and our domestic species (Capra lnrcus, L.) vary infinitely in ;ize, colour, and in the length and fineness of the hair ; in the size of the horns, and even in their number. !he Angora Goats in Cappadocia have the longest .and most s1lky hair. Those of Thibet are renowned for the admirably fine wool which grows among their hair, with which the celebrated Cachemires are manufactured. There is a race in upper Egypt with short hair, convex chanfrin, and projecting lower jaw, which possibly is hybrid. The Goats of Guinea, called Mam· brines and Tlf1~ida, are very small, the horns inclining back· wards. All these animals are stout, capricious, and fond of wandering; sensible of their mountain origin, they prefer dry and wild places, feeding on coarse grass and shoots of young trees. They do much injury to the forests. The Kid only is eaten but their milk is useful in several diseases. The female ' can produce at seven months; her period of gestation is five, and she generally has two kids at a birth. C. ibex, L.; Buff. XII, pl. xiii; Schreb. CCLXXXI. (The Ibex.) Large horns, square in front, marked with transverse and prominent knots. It inhabits the most elevated sum· mits of the highest ranges of mountains in the whole of the eastern continent. C. caucasica, Guldenst., Act. Petrop. 1779, II, pl. xvi, xvii i Schr. CCLXXXI, B. (The Caucasian Ibex.) D1· stm· gu1·s bed by its large triangular horns, obtuse, but not square in fro~t, and knotty like those of the preceding. The two species IDlX with the Domestic Goat.(1) (1) Add the Bouquetin d' Ethiopie, F. Cuv. Mammif.-The .!J.frican Maned ]bet, Tackhait•e, S. Daniels, Afric. Scenery, pl. xxiv. RUMINANTIA. 199 Ovis, Lin. The horns of Sheep are directed backwards, and then incline spirally, more or less forwards : the chanfrin is more or less convex and there is no beard. They are so slightly entitled to a gene-' ric separation from the Goats, that the two produce a prolific offspring. As in the Goats, there are several wild races or species very nearly allied. Ov. ammon, L.; Pall. Spic. XI, i; Schr. CCLXXXVIII. (The Argali of Siberia.) The male of which has very large horns, with the base triangular, angles rounded, flattened in front, and striated transversely; those of the female are compressed and falciform. In summer the hair is short, and of a fawn coloured grey; in winter it is thick, rigid, and of a reddish grey, with some white about the muzzle, throat, and under the belly. There is always, as in the Stag, a yellow space about the tail, which is very short. This animal inhabits the mountains of all Asia, and attains to the size of the Fallow Deer. Ov. mttsimon, Pall.; Mufione of Sardinia; Muffoli de Corse; Buff. XI, pl. xxix; Schreb. CCLXXXVIII, A. (The Mouflon of Sardinia.) Appears to differ from it only in its inferior sizet and in the deficiency or smallness of the horns in the female. It is said to be also found in Crete. There are some varieties, totally or partially black, and others more or less white. It is probable that the Ov. montana; Geoff., Ann. Mus. II, pl. lx; Schr. CCXCIV, D, (The Mouflon of America) is a species of Argali, which may have crossed the sea on the ice. Its horns are very stout, and are more perfectly spiral than those of the common species.( 1) Ov. tragelap!tus, Cuv.; Penn. XII; Shaw, pl. ccii, 2; Schr. CCLXXXVIII, B. (The Mouflon of Africa.) Soft and reddish hair, with a long mane hanging under the neck and another a~ each ankle; the tail is short; it appears to be a distinct speCles. It inhabits the rocky districts of all Barbary; and M. Geoffroy has observed it in Egypt. It is from the Mouflon or the Argali that we are supposed to derive the innumerable races of our woolly animals, which, next to the Dog, are most subject to vary. We have some of them in Europe, with common and fine wool; large and small; with big or little horns, wanting in the females, and in both sexes, &c. &c. The most interesting varieties are those of (1) This is indubitably identical with the Ovis ammon, L. .11m. Eel. |