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{{Short description|Genus of mammals, the goats}} {{Short description|Genus of mammals, the goats}}
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| image = Козе изнад Ст.Леонарда, Јужни Тирол, Италија.jpg | image = Козе изнад Ст.Леонарда, Јужни Тирол, Италија.jpg
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Revision as of 11:43, 20 July 2024

Genus of mammals, the goats

Capra
Temporal range: 2.58–0 Ma PreꞒ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Early PleistocenePresent
Capra, St. Leonhard in Passeier, Italy
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Tribe: Caprini
Genus: Capra
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Capra hircus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

See text.

Approximate range of the Capra species

Capra is a genus of mammals, the goats, comprising ten species, including the markhor and several species known as ibexes. The domestic goat (Capra hircus) is a domesticated species derived from the bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus). Evidence of goat domestication dates back more than 8,500 years.

Wild goats are animals of mountain habitats. They are very agile and hardy, able to climb on bare rock and survive on sparse vegetation. They can be distinguished from the genus Ovis, which includes sheep, by the presence of scent glands close to the feet, in the groin, and in front of the eyes, and the absence of other facial glands, and by the presence of a beard in some specimens, and of hairless calluses on the knees of the forelegs.

Taxonomy

Male Nubian ibex
Caprine heart.

All members of the genus Capra are bovids (members of the family Bovidae), and more specifically caprines (subfamily Caprinae). As such they are ruminants, meaning they chew the cud, and have four-chambered stomachs which play a vital role in digesting, regurgitating, and redigesting their food.

The genus has sometimes been taken to include Ovis (sheep) and Ammotragus (Barbary sheep), but these are usually regarded as distinct genera, leaving Capra for ibexes. In this smaller genus, some authors have recognized only two species, the markhor on one side and all other forms included in one species on the other side. Today, nine wild species are usually accepted to which is added the domestic goat:

The goats of the genus Capra have complex systematic relationships, which are still not completely resolved. Recent studies based on mitochondrial DNA suggest that the Asian ibex and the Nubian ibex represent distinct species, which are not very closely related to the physically similar Alpine ibex. The Alpine ibex forms a group with the Iberian ibex. The West Caucasian tur appears to be more closely related to the wild goat than to the East Caucasian tur. The markhor is relatively little separated from other forms—previously it had been considered to be a separate branch of the genus.

Almost all wild goat species are allopatric (geographically separated)—the only geographical overlaps are the wild goat (Capra aegagrus) with the East Caucasian tur (Capra cylindricornis), and the markhor (Capra falconeri) with the Asian ibex (Capra sibirica). In both cases, the overlapping species do not usually interbreed in the wild, but in captivity, all Capra species can interbreed, producing fertile offspring.

Species and subspecies

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Capra sibirica Asian ibex Central & North Asia, Afghanistan, West and North China (mainly Xinjiang), NW India, SE Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, North Pakistan, South Russia, Tajikistan, East Uzbekistan.
Capra falconeri Markhor South Asia; the Karakoram and Himalaya ranges.
Capra hircus Domestic goat Cosmopolitan distribution; domesticated.
Capra aegagrus Wild goat Turkey, the Caucasus to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan
Capra cylindricornis East Caucasian tur Greater Caucasus Mountains.
Capra caucasica West Caucasian tur Caucasus Mountains.
Capra ibex Alpine ibex Austria, Bavaria, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia & Switzerland.
Capra pyrenaica Iberian ibex Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Pyrenees Mountains, Spain to Portugal.
Capra nubiana Nubian ibex Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Capra walie Walia ibex Ethiopian Highlands & Simien Mountains.

Domestication and uses

Main article: Domestic goat
Goats used for natural weed control
Ibex securely climbing rocky slope

Along with sheep, goats were among the first domesticated animals. The domestication process started at least 10,000 years ago in what is now northern Iran. Easy human access to goat hair, meat, and milk were the primary motivations. Goat skins were popularly used until the Middle Ages for water and wine bottles when traveling and camping, and in certain regions as parchment for writing.


References

  1. Parrini, F.; et al. (2009). "Capra ibex (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)". Mammalian Species. 830: 1–12. doi:10.1644/830.1.
  2. Ansell, W. F. H. 1972. Order Artiodactyla. Part 15. Pp. 1–84, in The mammals of Africa: An identification manual (J. Meester and H. W. Setzer, eds.) . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., not continuously paginated. (quoted in Grubb, P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 62265494.)
  3. Haltenorth, T. 1963. Klassifikation der Säugetiere: Artiodactyla I. Handbuch der Zoologie, 8(32):1–167 (quoted in Grubb, P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 62265494.)
  4. Nathalie Pidancier, Steve Jordan, Gordon Luikart, Pierre Taberlet: Evolutionary history of the genus Capra (Mammalia, Artiodactyla): Discordance between mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40 (2006) 739–749 online
  5. Sarasa, M. (2023). "Common names of the Asiatic ibex superspecies at a turning point in its taxonomy and management". Animal Biodiversity and Conservation: 79–86. doi:10.32800/abc.2023.46.0079. ISSN 2014-928X. S2CID 257346317.
  6. Sarasa, Mathieu; Alasaad, Samer; Pérez, Jesús M. (2012). "Common names of species, the curious case of Capra pyrenaica and the concomitant steps towards the 'wild-to-domestic' transformation of a flagship species and its vernacular names". Biodiversity and Conservation. 21 (1): 1–12. Bibcode:2012BiCon..21....1S. doi:10.1007/s10531-011-0172-3. ISSN 1572-9710. S2CID 254282784.
  7. Phylogenetic Reconstructions in the Genus Capra (Bovidae, Artiodactyla) Based on the Mitochondrial DNA Analysis. Russian Journal of Genetics, 2007, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 181–189. online
  8. V. G. Heptner: Mammals of the Sowjetunion Vol. I UNGULATES. Leiden, New York, 1989 ISBN 90-04-08874-1
  9. Ross, S.; Elalqamy, H.; Al Said, T.; Saltz, D. "Capra nubiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T3796A22143385. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T3796A22143385.en.
  10. Melinda A. Zeder, Brian Hesse: The Initial Domestication of Goats (Capra hircus) in the Zagros Mountains 10,000 Years Ago. Science 24 March 2000: Vol. 287. no. 5461, pp. 2254–2257 online abstract

External links

Extant Artiodactyla species
Suborder Ruminantia
Antilocapridae
Antilocapra
Giraffidae
Okapia
Giraffa
Moschidae
Moschus
Tragulidae
Hyemoschus
Moschiola
Tragulus
CervidaeLarge family listed below
BovidaeLarge family listed below
Family Cervidae
Cervinae
Muntiacus
Elaphodus
Dama
Axis
Rucervus
Elaphurus
Rusa
Cervus
Capreolinae
Alces
Hydropotes
Capreolus
Rangifer
Hippocamelus
Mazama
Ozotoceros
Blastocerus
Pudu
Pudella?
Odocoileus
Family Bovidae
Hippotraginae
Hippotragus
Oryx
Addax
Reduncinae
Kobus
Redunca
Aepycerotinae
Aepyceros
Peleinae
Pelea
Alcelaphinae
Beatragus
Damaliscus
Alcelaphus
Connochaetes
Pantholopinae
Pantholops
CaprinaeLarge subfamily listed below
BovinaeLarge subfamily listed below
AntilopinaeLarge subfamily listed below
Family Bovidae (subfamily Caprinae)
Ammotragus
Arabitragus
Budorcas
Capra
Capricornis
Hemitragus
Naemorhedus
Oreamnos
Ovibos
Nilgiritragus
Ovis
Pseudois
Rupicapra
Family Bovidae (subfamily Bovinae)
Boselaphini
Tetracerus
Boselaphus
Bovini
Bubalus
Bos
Pseudoryx
Syncerus
Tragelaphini
Tragelaphus
(including kudus)
Taurotragus
Family Bovidae (subfamily Antilopinae)
Antilopini
Ammodorcas
Antidorcas
Antilope
Eudorcas
Gazella
Litocranius
Nanger
Procapra
Saigini
Saiga
Neotragini
Dorcatragus
Madoqua
Neotragus
Nesotragus
Oreotragus
Ourebia
Raphicerus
Cephalophini
Cephalophus
Philantomba
Sylvicapra
Suborder Suina
Suidae
Babyrousa
Hylochoerus
Phacochoerus
Porcula
Potamochoerus
Sus
Tayassuidae
Tayassu
Catagonus
Dicotyles
Suborder Tylopoda
Camelidae
Lama
Camelus
Suborder Whippomorpha
Hippopotamidae
Hippopotamus
Choeropsis
Cetacea
Taxon identifiers
Capra
Categories: