Capra (genus)

Capra; Temporal range: 2.58–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ Early Pleistocene – Present
	Capra, St. Leonhard in Passeier, Italy
Scientific 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). It is one of the oldest domesticated species of animal - according to archaeological evidence its earliest domestication occurred in Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago.^[1]

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.^[2]

Taxonomy

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),^[3] 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.^[4] Today, nine wild species are usually accepted to which is added the domestic goat:^[5]

West Asian ibex also known as the wild goat (Capra aegagrus)
- Bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus)
- Sindh ibex (Capra aegagrus blythi)
Domestic goat (Capra hircus; includes feral goat; sometimes considered a subspecies of C. aegagrus)
Asian ibex also known as the Siberian ibex (Capra sibirica)^[6]
Markhor (Capra falconeri)
West Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica)
East Caucasian tur (Capra cylindricornis)
Alpine ibex (Capra ibex)
Iberian ibex also known as the Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica)^[7]
Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana)
Walia ibex (Capra walie)

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

Species and subspecies

Genus **Capra** – Linnaeus, 1758 – ten species
Common name	Scientific name and subspecies	Range	Size and ecology	IUCN status and estimated population
Asian ibex, Siberian ibex	Capra sibirica Pallas, 1776 Four subspecies C. s. sibirica C. s. alaiana C. s. hagenbecki C. s. sakeen	Central & North Asia, Afghanistan, West and North China (mainly Xinjiang), NW India, SE Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, North Pakistan, South Russia, Tajikistan, East Uzbekistan.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Markhor	Capra falconeri (Wagner, 1839) Five subspecies C. f. falconeri C. f. heptneri C. f. megaceros C. f. cashmiriensis C. f. jerdoni	South Asia; the Karakoram and Himalaya ranges.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
Domestic goat	Capra hircus Linnaeus, 1758	Cosmopolitan distribution; domesticated.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Wild goat	Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777 Four subspecies Bezoar ibex C. a. aegagrus Sindh ibex C. a. blythi Chiltan ibex C. a. chialtanensis Turkmen wild goat C. a. turcmenica	Turkey, the Caucasus to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
East Caucasian tur	Capra cylindricornis (Blyth, 1841)	Greater Caucasus Mountains.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	NT
West Caucasian tur	Capra caucasica Güldenstädt and Pallas, 1783	Caucasus Mountains.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	EN
Alpine ibex	Capra ibex Linnaeus, 1758	Austria, Bavaria, France, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia & Switzerland.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Iberian ibex	Capra pyrenaica (Schinz, 1838) Four subspecies Capra pyrenaica hispanica Capra pyrenaica victoriae †Capra pyrenaica lusitanica †Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica	Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Pyrenees Mountains, Spain to Portugal.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	LC
Nubian ibex	Capra nubiana F. Cuvier, 1825	Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.^[10]	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU
Walia ibex	Capra walie Rüppell, 1835	Ethiopian Highlands & Simien Mountains.	Size: Habitat: Diet:	VU

Domestication and uses

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.^[11] 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.

Goats used for natural weed control
Ibex securely climbing rocky slope

References

^ Zeder, Melinda A.; Hesse, Brian (2000). "The Initial Domestication of Goats (Capra hircus) in the Zagros Mountains 10,000 Years Ago". Science. 287 (5461): 2254–7. Bibcode:2000Sci...287.2254Z. doi:10.1126/science.287.5461.2254. PMID 10731145. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
^ Parrini, F.; et al. (2009). "Capra ibex (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)". Mammalian Species. 830: 1–12. doi:10.1644/830.1.
^ 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.) [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.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 62265494.)
^ 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.)
^ 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
^ 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.
^ 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.
^ 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
^ V. G. Heptner: Mammals of the Sowjetunion Vol. I UNGULATES. Leiden, New York, 1989 ISBN 90-04-08874-1
^ 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.
^ 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

"Ibex" . New International Encyclopedia. 1905.

[1] Zeder, Melinda A.; Hesse, Brian (2000). "The Initial Domestication of Goats (Capra hircus) in the Zagros Mountains 10,000 Years Ago". Science. 287 (5461): 2254–7. Bibcode:2000Sci...287.2254Z. doi:10.1126/science.287.5461.2254. PMID 10731145. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2022.

[Parrini2009-2] Parrini, F.; et al. (2009). "Capra ibex (Artiodactyla: Bovidae)". Mammalian Species. 830: 1–12. doi:10.1644/830.1.

[3] 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.) [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.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 62265494.)

[4] 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.)

[5] 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

[6] 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.

[7] 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.

[8] 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

[9] V. G. Heptner: Mammals of the Sowjetunion Vol. I UNGULATES. Leiden, New York, 1989 ISBN 90-04-08874-1

[10] 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.

[11] 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

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