Bezoar ibex

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Bezoar ibex
Bezoarziege.jpg
Bezoar ibex, Capra aegagrus aegagrus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Tribe: Caprini
Genus: Capra
Species:
Subspecies:
C. a. aegagrus
Trinomial name
Capra aegagrus aegagrus
Erxleben, 1777
Capra aegagrus aegagrus.png

The bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus) is a wild goat subspecies that is native to the montane forested areas in the Caucasus and the Zagros Mountains.

Contents

Characteristics

The bezoar ibex, which weighs around 60 kg (130 lb) is known particularly for the size of its horns; it possesses the world's longest horns in relation to body weight, and can exceed 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) high, those in the south and east desert ranges are typically smaller by 30 percent. Females are slightly smaller and their horns tend to grow to 0.2 m (7.9 in). Males have a dark brown summer coat, while the females have a more reddish-gold, and both sexes shift to a gray-colored coat in winter. Both sexes also have a tuft of hair extending from the chin. The ibexes have a black stripe from the spine that extends over the shoulder, limbs, and neck. This stripe darkens in the mating season. [1]

Distribution and habitat

In the Greater Caucasus, the bezoar ibex ranges from the upper Argun river in Georgia to Chechnya, in the Andi Koisu and Avar Koisu river basins in Daghestan and Tusheti up to the headwaters of the Jurmut river. In the Lesser Caucasus, it occurs in the mountain ranges in Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the Zangezur Mountains, Meghri, Mrovdagh, Karabakh and Delidagh ranges. [2] In Iran, it is widely distributed and lives in rocky terrain, mountainous areas, on cliffs along the seashore, deciduous forests and in some areas in the Dasht-e Kavir desert. [3] In Iraq, it occurs in the Zagros Mountains along the borders with Turkey and Iran. [4]

Introduced

The goat populations on some Aegean islands and in Crete were introduced during the prehistoric period and constitute relict populations of the domestic goat (Capra hircus) that are now feral. The bezoar ibex is one of the domestic goat's progenitors. [5] Wild goats are thought to have been domesticated at least 10,000 years Before Present. [6] In the United States, bezoar ibex were introduced to the Florida mountains in New Mexico in 1970. Initially only 15 were imported from Iran but in 1974 an additional 27 were released. [7]

Hybrid bezoar ibex

The hybrid ibex is a cross between a wild bezoar ibex and a domestic goat. It occurs in several localities in one district of Turkey and crosses over habitats with the bezoar in some of these areas. Hybrids tend to be very similar to the bezoar ibex, but have much longer, floppier ears and a longer coat. The most prominent difference may be the horns, which flare out significantly in comparison to those of a true ibex.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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An ibex is any of several species of wild goat , distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouflon</span> Species group of the wild sheep

The mouflon is a wild sheep native to the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpine ibex</span> Species of mammal

The Alpine ibex, also known as the steinbock, is a European species of goat that lives in the Alps. It is one of ten species in the genus Capra and its closest living relative is the Iberian ibex. The Alpine ibex is a sexually dimorphic species; males are larger and carry longer horns than females. Its coat is brownish-grey. Alpine ibexes tend to live in steep, rough terrain and open alpine meadows. They can be found at elevations as high as 3,300 m (10,800 ft) and their sharp hooves allow them to scale the steep slopes and cliffs of their mountainous habitat.

<i>Capra</i> (genus) Genus of mammals, the goats

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markhor</span> Species of mammal

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Caucasian tur</span> Species of mammal

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Caucasian tur</span> Species of mammal

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The Zagros Mountains forest steppe is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Western Asia. The ecoregion extends along the Zagros Mountains, stretching from eastern Turkey and northern Iraq to southern Iran.

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The walia ibex is a vulnerable species of ibex. It is sometimes considered an endemic subspecies of the Alpine ibex. If the population were to increase, the surrounding mountain habitat would be sufficient to sustain only 2,000 ibex. The adult walia ibex's only known wild predator is the hyena. However, young ibex are often hunted by a variety of fox and cat species. The ibex are members of the goat family, and the walia ibex is the southernmost of today's ibexes. In the late 1990s, the walia ibex went from endangered to critically endangered due to the declining population. The walia ibex is also known as the Abyssinian ibex. Given the small distribution range of the Walia ibex in its restricted mountain ecosystem, the presence of a large number of domestic goats may pose a serious threat that can directly affect the survival of the population.

The wildlife of Iran include the fauna and flora of Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenian mouflon</span> Subspecies of mammal

The Armenian mouflon is an endangered subspecies of mouflon endemic to Iran, Armenia, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Iraq.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feral goat</span> Domestic goat established in the wild

The feral goat is the domestic goat when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sindh ibex</span>

The Sindh ibex or Turkman wild goat is a vulnerable subspecies of wild goat endemic to southwest Pakistan, and southeast Iran.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goat</span> Domesticated mammal (Capra hircus)

The goat or domestic goat is a species of domesticated goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the bezoar ibex of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bovidae, meaning it is closely related to the sheep. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat. It is one of the oldest domesticated species of animal - according to archaeological evidence its earliest domestication occurred in Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestication of the goat</span>

Goat evolution is the process by which domestic goats came to exist through evolution by natural selection. Wild goats — medium-sized mammals which are found in noticeably harsh environments, particularly forests and mountains, in the Middle East and Central Asia — were one of the first species domesticated by modern humans, with the date of domestication generally considered to be 8,000 BC. Goats are part of the family Bovidae, a broad and populous group which includes a variety of ruminants such as bison, cows and sheep. Bovids all share many traits, such as hooves and a herbivorous diet and all males, along with many females, have horns. Bovids began to diverge from deer and giraffids during the early Miocene epoch. The subfamily Caprinae, which includes goats, ibex and sheep, are considered to have diverged from the rest of Bovidae as early as the late Miocene, with the group reaching its greatest diversity in the ice ages.

References

  1. Potts, Daniel (2012). "IBEX, PERSIAN". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  2. Weinberg, P. & Ambarli, H. (2020). "Capra aegagrus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T3786A22145942.
  3. Karami, M.; Ghadirian, T. & Faizolahi, K. (2016). The Atlas of Mammals of Iran. Tehran: Department of Environment and University of Tehran.
  4. Raza, H. (2013). "On conserving the wild goat Capra aegagrus in Peramagroon and Qara Dagh mountains, Iraq conservation leadership". Wildlife Middle East. 6: 5.
  5. Clutton-Brock, J. (1999). A Natural History Of Domesticated Mammals (Second, illustrated, revised ed.). London: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-63495-3.
  6. Naderi, S.; Rezaei, H.R.; Pompanon, F.; Blum, M.G.; Negrini, R.; Naghash, H.R.; Balkiz, O.; Mashkour, M.; Gaggiotti, O.E.; Ajmone-Marsan, P.; Kence, A.; Vigne, J.D.; Taberlet, P. (2008). "The goat domestication process inferred from large-scale mitochondrial DNA analysis of wild and domestic individuals". PNAS. 105 (46): 17659–17664. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10517659N. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0804782105 . PMC   2584717 . PMID   19004765.
  7. Persian Ibex (Capra aegagrus) - NMDGF