Íslenskar landbúnaðarrannsóknir - 01.03.1970, Page 108

106 ÍSLENZKAR LANDBLJNAÐARRANNSÓKNIR
The white X mouflon was white. A
back-cross of the Fx to mouflon gave 3
white, 3 mouflon and in addition 3 badger-
face, which would not been produced if
the two patterns badgerface and mouflon
were given by allelic genes. Similarly,
white X black gave white F1( which when
backcrossed to black gave 9 white, 5 black
and one badgerface, of which the last one
would not have been expected if the genes
for white, badgerface and black were al-
lelic.
In these experiments, no case was report-
ed of animals showing both the badgerface
and the mouflon pattern, and the badger-
face pattern was regarded to be completely
dominant. The variation of the badgerface
pattern, on the other hand, was enormous.
Some of the animals were almost complete-
ly black, and 4 cases are reported (Roberts
and White, 1930 a), where it was doubtful
whether the lambs were black or badger-
face. During the purchase of animals for
the foundation of the experimental flock,
very heavily pigmented types were exclud-
ed, but owing to the difficulties in secur-
ing sufficiently large numbers, some ani-
mals with reduced pigmented areas were
included. In some cases the ventral area
was grey, and in the most extreme cases
only the bars between the eyes were found,
a little black on the ears, muzzle lightly
pigmented, a black area on the lower jaw,
and greyish legs (Roberts, 1924). The de-
scription of the type with extreme reduc-
tion of pigment in the foundation stock
resembles considerably the colour of the
black badgerface-mouflon animals founcl
in the present study. It shoukl also be
noted that this type witli reduced pigment
seems to have been produced in the experi-
ments, but it is not mentioned how fre-
quent it was nor whether it was more
frequent in some matings than others. The
occurrence of two badgerface sheep hetero-
zygous for that factor and either hetero-
zygous or homozygous for the mouflon patt-
ern, with whiter chin than in ordinary
badgerface, is mentioned, but at the same
time it is stated that all other animals of
similar genetic constitution appeared in-
distinguishable from ordinary badgerfaces
(Roberts and White, 1930 a). It is also
clear from the description of the founda-
tion stock that the rams used showed the
typical pattern, while the ewes were more
variable (Roberts, 1924).
Some of the photographs of the modi-
fication of the badgerface and mouflon
patterns (Roberts, 1924, Roberts and
White, 1930 a) indicate that some of the
modified types might have shown both
patterns. Tlie type showing extreme reduc-
tion of pigment (Roberts, 1924, Plate XX,
1) could possibly have been a lightcoloured
type of badgerface-mouflon, but due to the
clear head pattern it would have been de-
scribed as badgerface. On the other hand,
the modification of the mouflon type (Ro-
berts and White, 1930 a) shown in Plate
VIII, 3, could have been a badgerface-
mouflon, where the badgerface pattern was
on the dark side. This lamb was described
as a mouflon, presumably because the
characteristic head pattern was absent and
the white belly of the mouflon pattern
present. The lamb shown in fig. 5 in the
same plate seems to have all the character-
istics of a dark badgerface as shown in
Plate VI, 6, of the same paper, while the
characteristic features of the mouflon patt-
ern, light belly and light colour inside the
ears, are absent. As this lamb was from a
mating where the badgerface pattern was
not expected, it seems reasonable to assume
that the dam might have been a dark
badgerface-mouflon, classified as mouflon,
and the sire a mouflon, carrying the mou-
flon pattern in a simplex state.
The description of the variation in the
patterns and the photograps given in the
above mentioned studies therefore indicate