Goat-antelope

Not to be confused with Antilocapridae.

This article is about the animal subfamily including goats and sheep. For the species sometimes called goat antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni), see Tibetan antelope.

Goat-antelopes
Barbary Sheep, Ammotragus lervia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae Gray, 1821
Genera
Nemorhaedus   Rupicapra   Oreamnos   Budorcas   Ovibos   Hemitragus   Ammotragus   Pseudois   Capra   Ovis and see text

A goat-antelope, or caprid, is any of the species of mostly medium-sized bovids that make up the subfamily Caprinae (as treated here), part of the Bovidae family of ruminants. The domestic sheep and domestic goat are both part of the goat-antelope group by its widest definition, but some taxonomists prefer to use the term only for members of the Caprinae that are not members of the tribe Caprini (caprines). The term "goat-antelope" does not mean that these animals are true antelopes: a true antelope is a bovid with a cervid-like or antilocaprid-like morphology.

Characteristics

Although most goat-antelopes are gregarious and have a fairly stocky build, they diverge in many other ways – the Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is adapted to the extreme cold of the tundra; the Rocky Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) of North America is specialised for very rugged terrain; the Urial (Ovis orientalis) occupies a largely infertile area from Kashmir to Iran, including much desert country. The European mouflon (Ovis musimon) is thought to be the ancestor of the modern domestic sheep (Ovis aries).

Many species became extinct since the last ice age, probably largely because of human interaction. Of the survivors:

• Five are classified as endangered,
• Eight as vulnerable,
• Seven as of concern and needing conservation measures, but at lower risk, and
• Seven species are secure.

Members of the group vary considerably in size, from just over 1 metre (3 ft) long for a full-grown grey goral (Nemorhaedus goral), to almost 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) long for a musk ox, and from under 30 kilograms (66 lb) to more than 350 kilograms (770 lb). Musk oxen in captivity have reached over 650 kilograms (1,400 lb).

The lifestyles of caprids fall into two broad classes: resource-defenders, which are territorial and defend a small, food-rich area against other members of the same species; and grazers, which gather together into herds and roam freely over a larger, usually relatively infertile area.

The resource-defenders are the more primitive group: they tend to be smaller in size, dark in colour, males and females fairly alike, have long, tassellated ears, a long mane, and dagger-shaped horns. The grazers (sometimes collectively known as tsoan caprids, from the Semitic tso'wn meaning "to migrate") evolved more recently. They tend to be larger, highly social, and rather than mark territory with scent glands, they have highly evolved dominance behaviours. There is no sharp dividing line between the groups, but a continuum between the serows at one end of the spectrum and sheep, true goats, and musk oxen at the other.

Evolution

Palaeoreas lindermayeri fossil

The goat-antelope, or caprid, group is known from as early as the Miocene, when members of the group resembled the modern serow in their general body form. The group did not reach its greatest diversity until the recent ice ages, when many of its members became specialised for marginal, often extreme, environments: mountains, deserts, and the subarctic region.

The ancestors of the modern sheep and goats (both rather vague and ill-defined terms) are thought to have moved into mountainous regions – sheep becoming specialised occupants of the foothills and nearby plains, and relying on flight and flocking for defence against predators, and goats adapting to very steep terrain where predators are at a disadvantage.

Extant species

FAMILY BOVIDAE

• Subfamily Caprinae
  • Tribe Ovibovini
    

    

    Takin (Budorcas taxicolor)
    

    

    Spanish Ibex (Capra pyrenaica)
    

    

    Bharal (Pseudois nayaur)
    • Genus Budorcas
      • Takin, Budorcas taxicolor
    • Genus Ovibos
      • Musk ox, Ovibos moschatus
  • Tribe Caprini
    • Genus Ammotragus
      • Barbary sheep, Ammotragus lervia
    • Genus Arabitragus
      • Arabian tahr, Arabitragus jayakari
    • Genus Capra
      • Wild goat, Capra aegagrus
        • Domestic goat, Capra aegagrus hircus
      • West Caucasian tur, Capra caucasia
      • East Caucasian tur, Capra cylindricornis
      • Markhor, Capra falconeri
      • Alpine ibex, Capra ibex
      • Nubian ibex, Capra nubiana
      • Spanish ibex, Capra pyrenaica
      • Siberian ibex, Capra sibirica
      • Walia ibex, Capra walie
    • Genus Hemitragus
      • Himalayan tahr, Hemitragus jemlahicus
    • Genus Ovis
      • Argali, Ovis ammon
      • Domestic sheep, Ovis aries
      • American bighorn sheep, Ovis canadensis
      • Dall or thinhorn sheep, Ovis dalli
      • European mouflon, Ovis musimon
      • Snow sheep, Ovis nivicola
      • Urial, Ovis orientalis
    • Genus Nilgiritragus
      • Nilgiri tahr, Nilgiritragus hylocrius
    • Genus Pseudois
      • Bharal (Himalayan blue sheep), Pseudois nayaur
      • Dwarf blue sheep, Pseudois schaeferi
  • Tribe Naemorhedini
    

    

    Grey goral (Nemorhaedus goral)
    • Genus Capricornis
      • Japanese serow, Capricornis crispus
      • Sumatran serow, Capricornis sumatraensis
      • Taiwan serow, Capricornis swinhoei
      • Chinese serow, Capricornis milneedwardsii
      • Red serow, Capricornis rubidus
      • Himalayan serow Capricornis thar
    • Genus Nemorhaedus
      • Red goral, Nemorhaedus baileyi
      • Chinese goral, Nemorhaedus griseus
      • Grey goral, Nemorhaedus goral
      • Long-tailed goral, Naemorhedus caudatus
    • Genus Oreamnos
      • Mountain goat, Oreamnos americanus
    • Genus Rupicapra
      • Pyrenean chamois, Rupicapra pyrenaica
      • Chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra

Fossil genera

The following extinct genera of Caprinae have been identified:

• †Benicerus
• †Boopsis
• †Bootherium
• †Capraoryx
• †Caprotragoides
• †Criotherium
• †Damalavus
• †Euceratherium
• †Gallogoral
• †Myotragus
• †Oioceros
• †Lyrocerus
• †Makapania
• †Megalovis
• †Mesembriacerus
• †Neotragocerus
• †Nesogoral
• †Norbertia
• †Numidocapra
• †Olonbulukia
• †Pachygazella
• †Pachytragus
• †Palaeoreas
• †Palaeoryx
• †Paraprotoryx
• †Parapseudotragus
• †Parurmiatherium
• †Praeovibos
• †Procamptoceras
• †Prosinotragus
• †Protoryx
• †Pseudotragus
• †Samotragus
• †Sinocapra
• †Sinomegoceros
• †Sinopalaeoceros
• †Sinotragus
• †Sivacapra
• †Soergelia
• †Sporadotragus
• †Symbos
• †Tethytragus
• †Tossunnoria
• †Tsaidamotherium
• †Turcocerus
• †Urmiatherium