GenusIII. SAIGA.

Size medium. Nose large, elongate, bent downwards, and inflated; the nostrils opening downwards. Tail short. Mammæ 4. Accessory hoofs present.

Skull with short nasals and premaxillaries, and an exceedingly large and high nasal opening; small supraorbital pits; no lachrymal vacuities; anteorbital fossæ shallow. Lower premolars two, at least in the recent species.

Horns of medium length, cylindrical, rather irregularly lyrate, strongly ringed, pale whitish or amber-coloured. Female hornless.

Range of the Genus.Steppes of S.E. Europe and Western Asia.

One species only.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XLIX.Wolf del. J. Smit lith.Hanhart imp.The SaigaSAIGA TATARICA.Published by R. H. Porter.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XLIX.

Wolf del. J. Smit lith.

Hanhart imp.

The Saiga

SAIGA TATARICA.

Published by R. H. Porter.

Ibex imberbis,Gmel.N. Comm. Ac. Petrop. v. p. 345 (1760) & vii. p. 39, pl. xix. (♂ ♀) (1761). (Not binomial.)Le Saiga,Buff.Hist. Nat. xii. p. 198, pl. xxii. fig. 2 (horn) (1764).Capra tatarica,Linn.Syst. Nat. (12) i. p. 97 (1766) (ex Gmel.);Müll.Natursyst. i. p. 417 (1773).Saiga tatarica,Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 160 (1843);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 55 (1847);id.Knowsl. Men. p. 3 (1850);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 112;id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 51, pl. vi. figs. 1 & 2 (skull) (1852);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 189 (1853);Gerr.Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 231 (1862);Glitsch, Bull. Soc. Moscow, 1865, p. 207;Sclat.P. Z. S. 1867, p. 240, pl. xvii.;Murie, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 451 (anatomy & position);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 33 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 102 (1873);Scl.List An. Z. S. (8) p. 143 (1883), (9) p. 157 (1896);Flow. & Gars.Cat. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 265 (1884);Sterndale, Mamm. Ind. p. 468 (1884);Flow. & Lyd.Mamm. p. 341 (1891);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 101 (1892), (2) p. 145 (1896);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 163 (1893).Antilope tatarica,Forst.Descr. Anim. p. 390 (1844);Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 270 (1847);id.Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 266; Reprint, p. 86 (1848).Colus tataricus,Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 283 (1880).Antilope saiga,Pall.Misc. Zool. p. 6 (1766);id.Spic. Zool. xii. pp. 14 & 21 (1777);Zimm.Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 121 (1780);Bodd.Elench. Anim. p. 143 (1785);Schr.Säug. pl. cclxxvi. (1787);Gmel.Linn. S. N. i. p. 185 (1788);Kerr, Linn. An. K. p. 309 (1792);Donnd.Zool. Beytr. i. p. 626 (1792);Link, Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795);G. Cuv.Tabl. Élém. p. 163 (1798);Bechst.Syst. Uebers. vierf. Thierr. ii. p. 645 (1800);Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 339 (1801);Turt.Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 112 (1802);G. Cuv.Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 229 (1804);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) xxiv. Tabl. p. 33 (1804);Tiedem.Zool. i. p. 409 (1808);Pall.Zoogr. Ross.-As. i. p. 252 (1811);G. Fisch.Zoogn. iii. p. 428 (1814);Afz.N. Act. Ups. vii. p. 220 (1815);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 181 (1816);G. Cuv.R. A. i. p. 261 (1817);Goldf.Schr. Säug. v. p. 1216 (1818);Schinz, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 389 (1821);Desmoul.Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 44–2. (1822);Desm.Mamm. ii. p. 452 (1822);Less.Man. Mamm. p. 391 (1827);J. B. Fisch.Syn. Mamm. p. 458 (1829);Less.Compl. Buff. x. p. 289 (1836);Laurill.Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 616 (1839);Gerv.Dict. Sci. Nat. i. p. 260 (1840);Less.N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 176 (1842);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 420 (1844), v. p. 402 (1855);Schinz, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 408 (1845);id.Mon. Antil. p. 12 (1848);Gieb.Säug. p. 313 (1853);Nehring, Z. Ges. Erdkunde Berl. xxvi. pp. 327 & 338 (1891) (distribution);id.Zool. Gart. 1891, p. 328.Capra sayga,Forst.Phil. Trans. lvii. p. 344 (1767).Antilope (Gazella) saiga,Licht.Mag. nat. Freund. vi. p. 171 (1814).Cerophorus (Antilope) saiga,Blainv.Bull. Soc. Philom. 1816, p. 75.Colus saiga,Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 161 (1809).Saiga saiga,Jent.Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 134 (1887);id.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 165 (1892).Antilope scythica,Pall.Spic. Zool. fasc. i. p. 9 (1767);Müll.Natursyst. Suppl. p. 53 (1776);Erxl.Syst. R. A. p. 289 (1777);Zimm.Spec. Zool. Geog. p. 541 (1777);Gatt.Brev. Zool. i. p. 83 (1780);Oken, Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1365 (1838).Cemas colus,Oken, Lehrb. Nat. p. 736 (1816).Antilope colus,H. Sm.Griff. An. K. iv. p. 226, v. p. 335 (1827);Less.N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 176 (1812).Saiga colus,Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231 (1846).Gazella colus,Turner, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 168.Vernacular Names:—Saigàkin Russian;SuhakorBaran polniiin Polish;Ak-kirkof the Tartars;Sogakof the Caucasians;Gorossuun, the maleOhna, the femaleScharcholdsi, of the Calmucks;Jaban-choinof the Turks;Beschen-Chuschof Circassians;Linjodshaof Chinese.—Pallas.

Ibex imberbis,Gmel.N. Comm. Ac. Petrop. v. p. 345 (1760) & vii. p. 39, pl. xix. (♂ ♀) (1761). (Not binomial.)

Le Saiga,Buff.Hist. Nat. xii. p. 198, pl. xxii. fig. 2 (horn) (1764).

Capra tatarica,Linn.Syst. Nat. (12) i. p. 97 (1766) (ex Gmel.);Müll.Natursyst. i. p. 417 (1773).

Saiga tatarica,Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 160 (1843);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 55 (1847);id.Knowsl. Men. p. 3 (1850);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 112;id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 51, pl. vi. figs. 1 & 2 (skull) (1852);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 189 (1853);Gerr.Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 231 (1862);Glitsch, Bull. Soc. Moscow, 1865, p. 207;Sclat.P. Z. S. 1867, p. 240, pl. xvii.;Murie, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 451 (anatomy & position);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 33 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 102 (1873);Scl.List An. Z. S. (8) p. 143 (1883), (9) p. 157 (1896);Flow. & Gars.Cat. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 265 (1884);Sterndale, Mamm. Ind. p. 468 (1884);Flow. & Lyd.Mamm. p. 341 (1891);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 101 (1892), (2) p. 145 (1896);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 163 (1893).

Antilope tatarica,Forst.Descr. Anim. p. 390 (1844);Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 270 (1847);id.Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 266; Reprint, p. 86 (1848).

Colus tataricus,Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 283 (1880).

Antilope saiga,Pall.Misc. Zool. p. 6 (1766);id.Spic. Zool. xii. pp. 14 & 21 (1777);Zimm.Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 121 (1780);Bodd.Elench. Anim. p. 143 (1785);Schr.Säug. pl. cclxxvi. (1787);Gmel.Linn. S. N. i. p. 185 (1788);Kerr, Linn. An. K. p. 309 (1792);Donnd.Zool. Beytr. i. p. 626 (1792);Link, Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795);G. Cuv.Tabl. Élém. p. 163 (1798);Bechst.Syst. Uebers. vierf. Thierr. ii. p. 645 (1800);Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 339 (1801);Turt.Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 112 (1802);G. Cuv.Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 229 (1804);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) xxiv. Tabl. p. 33 (1804);Tiedem.Zool. i. p. 409 (1808);Pall.Zoogr. Ross.-As. i. p. 252 (1811);G. Fisch.Zoogn. iii. p. 428 (1814);Afz.N. Act. Ups. vii. p. 220 (1815);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 181 (1816);G. Cuv.R. A. i. p. 261 (1817);Goldf.Schr. Säug. v. p. 1216 (1818);Schinz, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 389 (1821);Desmoul.Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 44–2. (1822);Desm.Mamm. ii. p. 452 (1822);Less.Man. Mamm. p. 391 (1827);J. B. Fisch.Syn. Mamm. p. 458 (1829);Less.Compl. Buff. x. p. 289 (1836);Laurill.Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 616 (1839);Gerv.Dict. Sci. Nat. i. p. 260 (1840);Less.N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 176 (1842);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 420 (1844), v. p. 402 (1855);Schinz, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 408 (1845);id.Mon. Antil. p. 12 (1848);Gieb.Säug. p. 313 (1853);Nehring, Z. Ges. Erdkunde Berl. xxvi. pp. 327 & 338 (1891) (distribution);id.Zool. Gart. 1891, p. 328.

Capra sayga,Forst.Phil. Trans. lvii. p. 344 (1767).

Antilope (Gazella) saiga,Licht.Mag. nat. Freund. vi. p. 171 (1814).

Cerophorus (Antilope) saiga,Blainv.Bull. Soc. Philom. 1816, p. 75.

Colus saiga,Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 161 (1809).

Saiga saiga,Jent.Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 134 (1887);id.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 165 (1892).

Antilope scythica,Pall.Spic. Zool. fasc. i. p. 9 (1767);Müll.Natursyst. Suppl. p. 53 (1776);Erxl.Syst. R. A. p. 289 (1777);Zimm.Spec. Zool. Geog. p. 541 (1777);Gatt.Brev. Zool. i. p. 83 (1780);Oken, Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1365 (1838).

Cemas colus,Oken, Lehrb. Nat. p. 736 (1816).

Antilope colus,H. Sm.Griff. An. K. iv. p. 226, v. p. 335 (1827);Less.N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 176 (1812).

Saiga colus,Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231 (1846).

Gazella colus,Turner, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 168.

Vernacular Names:—Saigàkin Russian;SuhakorBaran polniiin Polish;Ak-kirkof the Tartars;Sogakof the Caucasians;Gorossuun, the maleOhna, the femaleScharcholdsi, of the Calmucks;Jaban-choinof the Turks;Beschen-Chuschof Circassians;Linjodshaof Chinese.—Pallas.

Height at withers about 30 inches. General colour in summer dull yellowish, with a whitish throat and indistinct facial markings; in winter nearly uniform whitish all over, without markings anywhere. Ears very short, thickly haired. Tail short, uniform in colour with the body.

Skull and horns of male as above described (p. 29). The dimensions of an old male skull are:—Basal length 9·5 inches, greatest breadth 5·1, muzzle to orbit 6·3.

The horns attain a length of about 13 or 14 inches, and are of a peculiar waxy or pale amber-colour.

Female similar, but without horns.

Hab.Steppes of Southern Russia, and South-eastern Siberia.

The Saiga, although closely allied to the Gazelles in structure, is, as will be seen from our figure, very different in external appearance, especially as regards the bloated form of the nose in the adult male, which gives it a most ungainly look and renders it easily distinguishable from all its allies of this group.

The Saiga was known to many of the ancient writers, and is described and figured by Gesner, in his ‘History of Quadrupeds,’ as an inhabitant of Scythia and Sarmatia, under the name “Colus,” which is said to have been formed by transposition from the native name “Sulac.” The earliest good account of it, however, is that of the well-known naturalist J. G. Gmelin, who met with it during his travels in Siberia between 1733 and 1743, and described it at full length, in an article on new quadrupeds published at St. Petersburg in 1760, under the name of “Ibex imberbis.” Upon Gmelin’sIbex imberbisLinnæus, in his ‘Systema Naturæ,’ based hisCapra tatarica. Of the two generic names proposed for this Antelope,Saigaby Gray in 1843, andColusby Wagner in the following year, we naturally prefer the oldest, and adopt as the proper name of this Antelope, which is the sole representative of its genus,Saiga tatarica.

Buffon, in his ‘Histoire Naturelle,’ also employed Saiga as the name of this animal and based his account of it mainly upon Gmelin’s description, stating, however, that there were specimens of its horns in the Royal Cabinet at Paris. Following the prior authorities, he describes the Saiga as a kind of wild goat found at that epoch in Hungary, Poland, Tartary, and Southern Siberia in herds on the plains, very fleet and active, and difficult of capture. We shall see, however, that the range of this animal in Europe has become very much more restricted in recent times.

The best modern account of the Saiga is that given in 1865, in the Bulletin of the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow, by Herr Constantin Glitsch, of Sarepta on the Lower Volga, who was employed for two years by the Imperial Russian Society of Acclimatisation to obtain living examples of this Antelope for the Zoological Garden of Moscow.

In the days of Pallas, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga had a wide distribution in Europe, extending from the borders of Poland, all across the Dnieper and the great flat southern portion of Russia to the Caucasus and the Caspian. The European herds of this animal were also often reinforced by large accessions from the steppes of Western Asia, which, driven by stress of famine from their native haunts, crossed the Ural and the Volga by the ice in winter. A hundred years later we find a great change in the range of the Saiga, caused by the increase of cultivation and population in the European portion of its range, which has driven this animal back into the East. On the Dnieper, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga has altogether disappeared, in the Ukraine it is no longer to be found, and even on the Don, where it was formerly so plentiful, it is quite a scarce animal. Nowadays, in fact, in Europe the Saiga is confined to the Kalmuk Steppes between the Don and the Volga, and is found only within the triangle lying between these two rivers, of which Tzaritzyn on the Volga forms the northern point.

On the flat and treeless plains which lie within these limits the Saiga still exists in tolerable abundance, though diminishing in numbers yearly as population increases. In the summer months it is distributed over the whole of this area; in winter, beginning from November, it is driven by the snow and cold from its northern resorts towards the south, where it finds shelter in the rich grassy valleys of the Sal and the Manitsch. Here the Saiga passes the winter on ground generally free from snow. Here it breeds in the spring, and as soon as the snow is melted in the more northern plains it begins its migration to the North. At this season the Saigas go northwards in considerable herds, the bucks first, followed by the does, and by the end of May they have all reached the most northern boundaries of their range. But there are many circumstances which interfere with the regularity of this migration, and at Sarepta, near the north end of their area, there are remarkable variations in their numbers. In some summers only a few scattered individuals are to be met with, in other years large herds are to be found in this district throughout the summer. But in very severe winters, when even the most southern districts inhabited by this Antelope are invaded by excessive cold and deep snow, the hungry beasts are driven all over the country in search of food, and stray even as far north as the vicinity of Sarepta. On these occasions whole herds are often entombed in the snow-drifts and fall an easy prey to the natives, who follow them on horseback and slaughterthem by hundreds. Under these circumstances it can easily be understood that the Saiga is a gradually vanishing animal in Europe. One thing, however, is in their favour, that the males, whose presence is betrayed by their horns, fall more easy victims to the hunter than the hornless females, which are more readily concealed in the herbage and thus escape notice.

Fig. 49.Group of Saigas (1/12 nat. size).(From the ‘Royal Natural History,’ vol. ii. p. 298.)

Fig. 49.

Group of Saigas (1/12 nat. size).

(From the ‘Royal Natural History,’ vol. ii. p. 298.)

Herr Glitsch gives us detailed and excellent descriptions of the form and colouring of the Saiga, and of the other peculiarities of the animal of both sexes and in all ages. In the winter coat the hairs on the upper part of the body are from two to three inches long, rather shorter on the underparts, and a long beard extends from the chin down the middle line of the neck to the breast. The older the animal is the brighter is its winter dress.

The voice of the Saiga is stated by Glitsch to be a deep loud bleat, which is frequently uttered by the young animals, but by the older animals only in the pairing-season and when they are wounded. The hearing, the sight, and the smell of the Saiga are all highly developed, and combine to render it a very difficult animal for the hunter to approach.

The Saigas are said to begin breeding about the middle of December (new style), and at this season commonly assemble in large herds in the warm side-valleys of the Sal and Manitsch, which are mostly free from snow. At this time the young are said to be driven away from the parents in flocks into the thickets, while the males fight fiercely one with another for the possession of the females. The female is stated to go five months with young, and to bring forth about the middle of May amongst the higher vegetation of the steppe. As a rule, she produces two young ones, seldom only one. The mother is sometimes seen followed by three young ones, but in such a case the third is, probably, an adopted animal. In the morning, after suckling her young ones, the mother leaves them concealed in the herbage, and goes far off to feed, returning to them only in the evening and staying with them all night. In about four weeks’ time the young Saigas learn to feed themselves, and the young horns begin to appear in the bucks. They suck, however, till the end of October, and follow after the mother up to the winter. The food of the Saiga consists not so much of the true grasses as of the leafy shrubs of the steppes, such asArtemisia,Atriplex, andGlycirhiza, as well asInula dysentericaand other saline plants.

Besides mankind, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga Antelope in the Volga district has no special enemy. The wolves and foxes, the only large beasts of prey of these steppes, can only attack quite young animals, the older ones easily making their escape. They have one great plague in the steppes, however, in the insects, especially a species ofŒstrus, by which at times they seem to be driven nearly crazy, and with the eggs and larvæ of which their skins seem to be almost always infested.

The flesh of the Saiga is said to be particularly tender and well-flavoured, and more like good mutton than anything else.

The favourite mode of chase of the Saiga is to drive out on to the steppes at early dawn with a cart containing provisions, and, after hiding the cart in some ravine, to stalk them with a rifle in the same manner as other large game-animals. But they are also occasionally taken in steel traps which areset upon their favourite runs. The Kalmuks use leather slings for the same purpose.

Beyond the Ural River the Saiga extends widely over the Kirghiz Steppes of Central Asia north of the Aral. Mr. William Bateson, F.R.S., has kindly favoured us with the following notes of what he heard and saw of the Saiga when in this district in 1896–7:—

“The Saiga is fairly common in the Kirghiz Steppes, inhabiting the dry tracts covered with various species ofArtemisia(Kirghiz,Jusun), upon which no doubt it feeds. It is not found in the sandy regions of the Kara-kum. I believe also that it does not live in the moister steppes, which bear a meadow vegetation. Its northern distribution in West Central Asia must therefore be bounded by the valley of the Irtish and its tributaries, which is all meadow-land. I met with Saigas first at the end of July 1896, in the neighbourhood of Lake Tschalkar, in the Turgai district. In this region we came upon their tracks constantly, and occasionally saw herds of various sizes from ten or a dozen to about a hundred. When we appeared they made off. In doing so I noticed that they generally travelled at right angles to our line of approach, though this may have been due to some accident in the lie of the ground. The Kirghiz catch them in traps set in their runs. A young one so caught was brought to me on July 27, 1896. Its horns and horn-cores were only slightly developed.“In the following year I travelled from Kozalinsk, on the Aral Sea, to Lake Balkhash, following the Shu River. In this journey we saw Saigas from time to time on the edge of the Bek Pak Dala, or Hungry Steppe, in April, but no large herds were seen. The Kirghiz spoke of them as common in the Bek Pak. Both this district and the Tschalkar Steppes, except for wells on the caravan-roads, are almost waterless after the snow has disappeared, so probably the Saiga can subsist without more water than the dew and its food-plants provide.“The Kirghiz name of the Saiga is ‘Kiik’ and the word Saiga is only known to them as Russian, in which language, however, the word is not really ‘Saiga,’ but ‘Säigak.’”

“In the following year I travelled from Kozalinsk, on the Aral Sea, to Lake Balkhash, following the Shu River. In this journey we saw Saigas from time to time on the edge of the Bek Pak Dala, or Hungry Steppe, in April, but no large herds were seen. The Kirghiz spoke of them as common in the Bek Pak. Both this district and the Tschalkar Steppes, except for wells on the caravan-roads, are almost waterless after the snow has disappeared, so probably the Saiga can subsist without more water than the dew and its food-plants provide.

“The Kirghiz name of the Saiga is ‘Kiik’ and the word Saiga is only known to them as Russian, in which language, however, the word is not really ‘Saiga,’ but ‘Säigak.’”

As regards the range of the Saiga at the present time, Herr E. Büchner, Director of the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, has kindly favoured us with the following particulars:—

The Saiga is still met with, although very unfrequently, in the country of the Ural Cossacks between the Wolga and the Ural, and extends occasionally into the Government of Samara. East of the river Ural its range extends over the Kirghiz Steppes and the steppe district of all West Siberia—Turgai, Akmolinsk, and Semipalatinsk. South of this the Saiga is also found in the steppes of Russian Turkestan and in the Dsungarian steppes of Western Mongolia, but not in Transcaspia.

Such is the range of the Saiga at present. As already shown, it was much wider than now even within the period of history. But when we go back into the Pleistocene times we have good evidence that the Saiga had a very much more extensive range, its fossil remains having been obtained from the caverns and superficial deposits of Hungary, Belgium, and Southern France. In the last-named country the researches of French palæontologists have proved that its bones and teeth occur in considerable numbers in certain of the cave deposits in the Departments of Vienne, Dordogne, Tarn-et-Garonne, and Haute-Garonne. Moreover, as shown by Mons. Gervais, at least one recognizable sketch of the head of the Saiga has been found on an artificially incised bone of the character so often met with in caverns where relics of human handiwork occur. It appears, therefore, that the Saiga inhabited Western Europe as late as the era of Palæolithic man, and was, moreover, in all probability one of the objects of his chase.

Still more interesting, however, is it to find that, as shown by Mr. A. Smith Woodward in a paper read before the Zoological Society in 1890, the Saiga was also found in former days in Great Britain. During excavations made in that year in the Pleistocene deposits near Twickenham, a fine example of the frontlet and horn-cores of an adult maleSaiga tataricawas discovered. By the kindness of the Zoological Society we are enabled to reproduce the figure of this interesting specimen (fig. 50, p. 39), which was exhibited by Mr. A. Smith Woodward on the occasion in question, and is now in the gallery of the British Museum.

Finally we may mention that, as has been recorded by Prof. Nehring, there have been discovered in Moravia remains of a Saiga differing from the living species in having three, in place of two, lower premolars[2]. From the occurrence of these remains, and those of other mammals now characteristic of the steppes in Western Europe, it has been argued by geologists that steppe-like conditions and climate must formerly have prevailed over large districts that have now quite changed their character.

Fig. 50.Frontlet and horns of Saiga (fossil), ♂. ½ nat. size.(P. Z. S. 1890, p. 614.)

Fig. 50.

Frontlet and horns of Saiga (fossil), ♂. ½ nat. size.

(P. Z. S. 1890, p. 614.)

The Saiga has occasionally, but not often, been brought alive to the menageries of Western Europe. In 1864 and 1865 young male specimens of this Antelope were first received from Moscow by the Zoological Society of London. In November 1866 a pair of Saigas was deposited in theZoological Society’s Gardens, and subsequently purchased, after living for several months in the Regent’s Park Gardens. An excellent coloured figure of these strange animals was made by Mr. J. Wolf in 1867, and published in the Society’s ‘Proceedings,’ and after their death Dr. Murie, then Prosector to the Society, based upon them an elaborate account of their structure and anatomy, which will be found in the volume of the same publication for the year 1870. By the kindness of the Zoological Society we are enabled to reproduce here an excellent figure of the head of the adult male Saiga in its winter coat, taken from a drawing made by Mr. Berjeau under Dr. Murie’ssupervision. We cannot do better than refer those who are interested in the structure and anatomy of the Saiga to Dr. Murie’s excellent article, from which, however, we venture to borrow his account of the cutaneous glands of this curious form, which appear to be not less than ten in number.

Fig. 51.Head of male Saiga in its winter dress.(P. Z. S. 1870, p. 495.)

Fig. 51.

Head of male Saiga in its winter dress.

(P. Z. S. 1870, p. 495.)

“In the Saiga there are two small suborbital glandular sacs, the so-called crumen, lachrymal sinus, or tearpit of some authors, which yield a thick whitish or pale yellow exudation. These are situated in front of the orbit, and slightly below the median transverse line of the eye. In the younger female the small external openings of thesewere placed ¾ of an inch, and in the male 1½ inch, in advance of the orbital ring; but the sinuses or sacs themselves lay in the broadish and moderately excavated infraorbital fossæ.“Each foot, as in the sheep, possesses an interdigital sac about 1½ inch in depth, and opening by a narrow constricted aperture at its front and upper part. The orifice is hidden by very short closely placed yellowish hairs, whilst below these the sac is superficially covered by a tuft of much stronger and longer hairs. The secretion derived from these interdigital bags is yellow and of a hardish ceruminous character.“On the anterior aspect, but slightly to the inner side, of each fore knee is a small dermal gland, or a thickening of the cutaneous tissues, covered by a brownish patch of firm hairs.“In the inguinal regions of both sexes bare oblong or lozenge-shaped spaces exist; each of these is 5 inches or more in extreme long diameter. Upon these inner edges in the female the imperfectly developed udders and four teats are situated.” (P. Z. S. 1870, p. 500.)

“Each foot, as in the sheep, possesses an interdigital sac about 1½ inch in depth, and opening by a narrow constricted aperture at its front and upper part. The orifice is hidden by very short closely placed yellowish hairs, whilst below these the sac is superficially covered by a tuft of much stronger and longer hairs. The secretion derived from these interdigital bags is yellow and of a hardish ceruminous character.

“On the anterior aspect, but slightly to the inner side, of each fore knee is a small dermal gland, or a thickening of the cutaneous tissues, covered by a brownish patch of firm hairs.

“In the inguinal regions of both sexes bare oblong or lozenge-shaped spaces exist; each of these is 5 inches or more in extreme long diameter. Upon these inner edges in the female the imperfectly developed udders and four teats are situated.” (P. Z. S. 1870, p. 500.)

The Saiga is represented in the British Museum by a mounted pair from Sarepta on the Volga, and by other skins and skeletons from the same locality. There are also some horns obtained by Dr. O. Finsch on the steppe near Saisan, on the Russo-Chinese frontier, in 1876 (see Finsch, ‘Reise nach West-Sibirien im Jahre 1876,’ p. 193).

Our figure of the Saiga (Plate XLIX.) has been put upon the stone by Mr. Smit from a black-and-white sketch prepared by Mr. Wolf for the late Sir Victor Brooke. The original sketch, which belongs to Sir Douglas Brooke, has been kindly lent to us for examination. We regret to say, however, that we have no particulars as to the individual from which Mr. Wolf’s drawing was taken.

August, 1897.

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