| Mouflon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Male Cyprus mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Genus: | Ovis |
| Species: | O. gmelini |
| Binomial name | |
| Ovis gmelini Blyth, 1841 | |
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| Range of theOvis gmelini | |
Themouflon (Ovis gmelini) is awild sheep native toCyprus, and theCaspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran.[1] It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all moderndomestic sheep breeds.[2][3]
Ovis gmelini was thescientific name proposed byEdward Blyth in 1841 for wild sheep in theMiddle East.[4]In the 19th and 20th centuries, several wild sheep were described that are considered mouflonsubspecies today:[5]
Five mouflonsubspecies are distinguished byMSW3:[8]
TheEuropean mouflon was once thought to be a subspecies of the mouflon, but is now considered to be a feral descendant of the domestic sheep (Ovis aries), asOvis aries musimon.[9]
Based on comparison of mitochondrialcytochrome b gene sequences, three groups of sheep (Ovis) have been identified: Pachyceriforms of Siberia (snow sheep) and North America (bighorn andDall sheep), Argaliforms (argali) of Central Asia, and Moufloniforms (urial, mouflon, anddomestic sheep) of Eurasia.[10] However, a comparison of themitochondrial DNA control region (CR) found that two subspecies of urial,Ovis vignei (ororientalis)arkal andO. v./o. bochariensis, grouped with two different clades of argali (Ovis ammon).[3]
The ancestral sheep is presumed to have had 60chromosomes, as in goats (Capra). Mouflon and domestic sheep have 54 chromosomes, with three pairs (1+3, 2+8, 5+11) of ancestral acrocentric chromosomes joined to form bi-armed chromosomes. This is in contrast to the argali and urial, which have 56 and 58 chromosomes respectively. If the urial is as closely related to the mouflons as mitochondrial DNA indicates, then two chromosomes would need to have split during its evolution away from the mouflon (sub)species.[10]
Mouflon have reddish to dark brown, short-haired coats with dark back stripes and black ventral areas and light-colored saddle patches. The males arehorned; some females are horned, while others arepolled. The horns of mature rams are curved almost one full revolution (up to 85 cm). Mouflon have shoulder heights of around 0.9 m and body weights of 50 kg (males) and 35 kg (females).[11]
Mouflon are found in theLesser Caucasus in southeastern Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in Iran's westernAlborz region and theZagros Mountains spanning eastern Iraq and western Iran.[1] They were possibly introduced to Cyprus during theNeolithic period.[12]
Mouflon rams have a strict dominance hierarchy. Before mating season or "rut", which is from late autumn to early winter, rams try to create a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes (female mouflon) for mating. Mouflon rams fight one another to obtain dominance and win an opportunity to mate with females. Mouflons reach sexual maturity at the age of two to four years. Young rams need to obtain dominance before they get a chance to mate, which takes another three years. Mouflon ewes also go through a similar hierarchy process in terms of social status in the first two years, but can breed even at low status. Pregnancy in females lasts five months, in which they produce one to two offspring.[citation needed]
A mouflon was cloned successfully in early 2001, and lived at least seven months, making it the first clone of an endangered mammal to survive beyond infancy.[13][14][15] This demonstrated that a common species (in this case, a domestic sheep) can successfully become a surrogate for the birth of an exotic animal such as the mouflon. If cloning of the mouflon can proceed successfully, it has the potential to reduce strain on the number of living specimens.
The mouflon is protected in Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Turkey and Iran, hunting is only allowed with a special license. The population in Cyprus is listed as a strictly protected species in theHabitats Directive of the European Union and has been listed inCITES Appendix I since November 2019.[1]
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The male mouflon is calledMufro in Corsica, and the femaleMufra; the French naturalistBuffon (1707–1788) rendered this in French asmoufflon. In Sardinia, the male is calledMurvoni, and the femaleMurva, though it is not unusual to hear the peasants style both indiscriminatelyMufion, which is a palpable corruption of the GreekOphion.[16]
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