ute in _Pantholops_. Dr. Murie notices the
inflation of the post-maxilla in the saiga, and states that a similar
extension is to be found in the _chiru_.

[Illustration: Saiga Antelope.]

NO. 460. PANTHOLOPS HODGSONII.
_The Chiru_.

NATIVE NAMES.--_Chiru_ in Nepal; _Isos_ in Thibet (_Strachey_); also
_Isors_ or _Choos_ (_Kinloch_).

HABITAT.--The open plains of Thibet from Lhassa to Ladakh.

[Illustration: _Pantholops Hodgsonii_.]

DESCRIPTION.--The following description was written in 1830,
apparently by Mr. Brian Hodgson himself, and was published in
'Gleanings in Science' (vol. ii., p. 348), probably the first
scientific magazine in India. As I have seen no better account of
this curious antelope I give it as it stands. Mr. Hodgson had the
advantage of drawing from life, he having had a living specimen as
a pet:--

"Antelope with very long, compressed, tapering, sub-erect (?
sub-lyrated) horns, having a slight concave arctuation forwards, and
blunt annulations (prominently ridged on the frontal surface),
except near the tips; a double coat throughout, greyish blue
internally, but superficially fawn-coloured above, and white below,
a black forehead, and stripes down the legs; and a tumour or tuft
above either nostril.

"The ears and tail are moderate and devoid of any peculiarity; so
likewise are the sub-orbital sinuses.[38] The horns are exceedingly
long, measuring in some individuals nearly 2-1/2 feet. They are
placed very forward on the head, and may popularly be said to be erect
and straight, though a reference to the specific character will show
that they are not strictly one or the other.

"The general surface of the horns is smooth and polished, but its
uniformity is broken by a series of from fifteen to twenty rings
extending from the base to within six inches of the tip of each horn.
Upon the lateral and dorsal surfaces of the horns these rings are
little elevated, and present a wavy rather than a ridgy appearance;
but on the frontal surface the rings exhibit a succession of heavy,
large ridges, with furrows between; the annulation is nowhere
acutely edged. The horns have a very considerable lateral
compression towards the base, where their extent fore and aft is
nearly double of that from side to side; upwards from the base the
lateral compression becomes gradually less, and towards their tips
the horns are nearly rounded. Compared with their length the
thickness of the horns is as nothing--i