No. 441 Ovis Brookei. — Brooke’s Wild Sheep
Habitat.—Ladakh, or probably the Kuenluen range north of Ladakh.
Description.—This species is founded on a single specimen, which, in the opinion of Mr. Blyth, Mr. Edwin Ward, F.Z.S., Sir Victor Brooke and others, differed materially from all other wild sheep, but, as they had only a head to go upon, further investigation in this direction is necessary. It is not even certain where the animal was shot, but it is believed to have been obtained in the vicinity of Leh in Ladakh. It is apparently allied to the O. Ammon of Thibet, which Sir Victor and Mr. B. Brooke term in their paper O. Hodgsonii, but it differs in its much smaller size, in its deeply sulcated horns, the angles of which are very much rounded, and the terminal curve but slightly developed. It differs also from O. Vignei and O. Karelini. The orbits project less, with greater width between them, the length of the molar teeth also exceeds the others. There are two wood-cuts of the skull and horns in the ‘P. Z. S.’ 1874, page 143, illustrating Mr. Edwin Ward’s paper on the subject.
The following are the dimensions of the specimen:—
| Inches. | |
| Length of skull | 11 |
| Smallest breadth between orbits | 4-5/8 |
| Length of horns, round curve | 33-1/2 |
| Circumference of horns | 13-3/8 |
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