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Capra (genus)

Capra (genus)

Capra is a genus of mammals, the goats, composed of up to nine species, including the wild goat, the markhor, and several species known as ibexes. The domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a domesticated subspecies of the wild goat (Capra 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 the males, and of hairless calluses on the knees of the forelegs.[1]

The Rocky Mountain goat is in a separate genus, Oreamnos. Present-day genetic and phenotypic differences between the Capra species are largely related to (1) discontinuity of and impeded migration between Capra populations during glacial periods, and (2) insufficient time in the postglacial period for now-adjoining Capra populations to overcome behavioral mechanisms impeding hybridization in the wild so as to erase these differences.[2]

Capra
Temporal range:2.6–0 Ma
PreЄ
Є
C
T
J
Pg
N
Pleistocene-Present
Female and male Siberian ibex at the Berlin Zoological Garden
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Artiodactyla
Family:Bovidae
Subfamily:Caprinae
Tribe:Caprini
Genus:Capra
Linnaeus, 1758
Species
See text.
Capra range map2.jpg
Approximate range of the Capra species

Taxonomy

Male Nubian ibex

Male Nubian ibex

Caprine heart.

Caprine heart.

All members of the genus Capra are bovids (members of the family Bovidae), and more specifically caprids (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),[3] but these are usually regarded as distinct genera, leaving Capra for goats and 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.[4] Today, nine species are usually accepted:[5]

  • West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica)

  • East Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica cylindricornis)

  • Markhor (Capra falconeri)

  • Alpine ibex (Capra ibex)

  • Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana)

  • Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica)

  • Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica)

  • Walia ibex (Capra walie)

  • Wild goat (Capra aegagrus) Domestic goat (Capra aegagrus hircus; includes feral goat) Bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus)

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 Siberian 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 Spanish 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.[6]

Almost all wild goat species are allopatric (geographically separated)—the only geographical overlaps are the wild goat (Capra hircus) with the East Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica cylindricornis), and the markhor (Capra falconeri) with the Siberian ibex (Capra siberica). In both cases, the overlapping species do not usually interbreed in the wild, but in captivity, all Capra species can interbreed, producing fertile offspring.[7]

Species and subspecies

Capra caucasica1.JPGCapra caucasicaWest Caucasian tur
Capra cylindricornis 2.JPGCapra cylindricornisEast Caucasian tur
Markhor.jpgCapra falconeriMarkhor
Bezoarziege.jpgCapra aegagrusWild goat
Gorges du Verdon Goat-Rove-black 0253.jpgCapra (aegagrus) hircusDomestic goat
Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica) 01.JPGCapra sibiricaSiberian ibex
Cabra d.jpgCapra pyrenaicaSpanish ibex
Capra walie.jpgCapra walieWalia ibex
SteinbockGabinten.jpgCapra ibexAlpine ibex
Nubian Ibex in Negev.JPGCapra nubianaNubian ibex

Domestication and uses

Goats used for natural weed control

Goats used for natural weed control

Ibex securely climbing rocky slope

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.[8] 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]
Citation Link//doi.org/10.1644%2F830.1Parrini, F.; et al. (2009). "Capra ibex (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)". Mammalian Species. 830: 1–12. doi:10.1644/830.1.
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[2]
Citation Link//doi.org/10.1093%2Fjmammal%2Fgyy056Gavashelishvili, A.; Yarovenko, Y. A.; Babayev, E. A.; Mikeladze, G.; Gurielidze, Z.; Dekanoidze, D.; Kerdikoshvili, N.; Ninua, L.; Paposhvili, N. (2018). "Modeling the distribution and abundance of eastern tur (Capra cylindricornis) in the Caucasus". Journal of Mammalogy. 99 (4): 885–897. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyy056.
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[3]
Citation Link//www.worldcat.org/oclc/62265494Ansell, 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.) [issued 2 May 1972]. 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.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.)
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[4]
Citation Link//www.worldcat.org/oclc/62265494Haltenorth, 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.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.)
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[5]
Citation Linkarchive.todayNathalie 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
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[6]
Citation Linkwww.springerlink.comPhylogenetic 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
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[7]
Citation Linkopenlibrary.orgV. G. Heptner: Mammals of the Sowjetunion Vol. I UNGULATES. Leiden, New York, 1989 ISBN 90-04-08874-1
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[8]
Citation Linkwww.sciencemag.orgMelinda 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
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[9]
Citation Linken.wikisource.org"Ibex"
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[10]
Citation Linkdoi.org10.1644/830.1
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[11]
Citation Linkdoi.org10.1093/jmammal/gyy056
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[12]
Citation Linkwww.departments.bucknell.eduMammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[13]
Citation Linkwww.worldcat.org62265494
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[14]
Citation Linkwww.departments.bucknell.eduMammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[15]
Citation Linkwww.worldcat.org62265494
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[16]
Citation Linkarchive.todayonline
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[17]
Citation Linkwww.springerlink.comonline
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[18]
Citation Linkwww.sciencemag.orgonline abstract
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[19]
Citation Linken.wikisource.org"Ibex"
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM
[20]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
Sep 20, 2019, 8:53 PM