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There's a current project on the genetics of 4 horns/split eyelids in both sheep and goats run by Aurelien Capitan at INRA, France (contact me off list for his email address). I've been breeding 4 horn Manx Loaghtan and Hebridean sheep for over 30 years, and prepped rather a lot of them as skeles, and I have never seen anything like the skull in your photo. The nearest parallel I can think of is a badly dehorned goat. I don't have a reference to hand, but male goats were sometimes deliberately dehorned in such a way that they grew a "unicorn", for exhibition as sideshow freaks. Both my Manx and Hebs have the Woolly Topknot trait but this is associated with 4 horns, primary horns usually small and curved forwards. I have polled ewes of both breeds but have never bred a polled male, despite trying. The problem seems to be that polled are in fact genetically 4 horn with a modifier preventing expression of the horns in ewes. The more robust male horns turn out looking like ewes or wethers. Happy to discuss further off list & dig out some references. Regards, Louisa Gidney ________________________________ From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Laszlo Bartosiewicz [[log in to unmask]] Sent: 06 April 2017 11:57 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [ZOOARCH] four horned sheep Dea Ylva, Many thanks for the prompt reply. In general I am familiar with the four-horned phenomenon. The information on Gute sheep is very interesting. I only read that some two horned breeds are occasionally used to balance against inbreeding in four-horned forms. My chief question is whether the small stub shown in the picture could be related to the woolen "tuft" in polled ewes where four horns are not manifested? The present skull you mentioned is an encouraging sign of the current presence of four-horned sheep in Sweden (as during the late Middle Ages in the Baltic Region). I would like to receive a picture. But could the photo I posted on ZooBook be a four-horned ewe "in disguise"? Unfortunately I have not found much concrete information on the genetics of four-horned sheep. Thank you once again, this is very interesting information. Best wishes, Laszlo ________________________________ From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Y T <[log in to unmask]> Sent: 06 April 2017 12:41 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [ZOOARCH] SV: four horned sheep Hello! Are you familiar with the "Jakobsfåret" that is said to produce four horned sheep. It has unfortunately some times been crossbreed with the Gute sheep (it is, if I am correct, seen as a defect). Petra Molnar donated me a part of a skull from a male 4 month old sheep with four horns...If you are interested I can send a picture.. With best regards, Ylva ____________________________________ https://independent.academia.edu/YlvaTelldahl ________________________________ Från: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites <[log in to unmask]> för Laszlo Bartosiewicz <[log in to unmask]> Skickat: den 6 april 2017 11:44 Till: [log in to unmask] Ämne: [ZOOARCH] four horned sheep Dear All, According to Alderson (1989, 60), some four-horned sheep breeds may produce polled females with a tuft of wool on the forehead. I will post a picture on Zoobook of a modern skull in the collection of the Osteoarchaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm (biographic data unknown). Was the small stub visible in the live animal, more exactly could it correspond to the " tuft of wool on the forehead"? My idea is based on crested hens in which the feather tuft is related to an inherited cranial deformation. Thank you for any ideas: Laszlo