| Rupicapra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chamois | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Tribe: | Caprini |
| Genus: | Rupicapra Garsault, 1764 |
| Type species | |
| Capra rupicapra Linnaeus, 1768 | |
 | |
| Range ofRupicapra during the Holocene (grey) and present range (red) | |
Rupicapra is agenus of two species ofgoat-antelope calledchamois. They belong to the bovinefamily of hoofed mammals, theBovidae.
Two extant species are accepted.[1]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution | Subspecies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Rupicapra rupicapra | Alpine chamois | The mountains of southern and centralEurope, andTurkey and theCaucasus in southwest Asia | Seven subspecies; see thespecies page for details |
 | Rupicapra pyrenaica | Pyrenean chamois | ThePyrenees andCantabrian Mountains in southwesternEurope, and theApennines in Italy | Three subspecies,R. p. pyrenaica in the Pyrenees,R. p. parva (Cantabrian chamois) in the Cantabrian Mountains, andR. p. ornata (Apennine chamois) in the Apennines. |
Both male and female have hook-shaped horns that slightly curl backwards and grow little by little each year, never falling off. Their coats are light brown and short-haired in the summer, and darker and longer-haired in the winter; the head has two pale creamy-white patches, from the nose to between the horns, and from the chin round the cheeks and behind the eyes to just below the ears; the pale patches are separated by dark stripes from the mouth up through the eye to the back of the head. There are also two darker bands on their flanks.
In the summer, the Apennine chamois prefers rock faces and pasture lands at heights above 1,700 m (5,600 ft) for its habitat, and in the winter it prefers to retreat to the woods below. The diet consists of grasses, leaves, buds, shoots and fungi. Adult males prefer a solitary life, only approaching females during the mating season. Groups consist only of females, young males, and "kids". Females give birth to only one kid after a gestation period of 23 to 24 weeks.[2]
A 2014 study byDurham University discovered that these goats are shrinking in size due toglobal warming and climatic changes.[3]
