Urial
| Urial | |
|---|---|
| |
| Bukhara Urial (Ovis vignei bochariensis) at Nordens Ark, Sweden | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Tribe: | Caprini |
| Genus: | Ovis |
| Species: | O. vignei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ovis vignei | |
The urial (Ovis vignei) is a wild sheep native to the Middle East. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.[1]
Characteristics
Urial males have large horns, curling outwards from the top of the head turning in to end somewhere behind the head; females have shorter, compressed horns. The horns of the males are up to 100 cm (39 in) long. The shoulder height of an adult male urial is between 80 and 90 cm (31 and 35 in).[citation needed]
Distribution and habitat
 |
The urial is found in western central Asia, from northeastern Iran and western Kazakhstan to Pakistan's Balochistan and Chitral regions, and in Ladakh, India. Its habitat consists of grassy slopes below the tree line. Urials rarely move to the rocky areas of the mountains. In northern Iran, they produce hybrids with mouflon under natural conditions. Urials feed mainly on grass, but also eat leaves of trees and bushes.
The Afghan urial is found in Musakhel district in Surghar and Torghar. A 2005-2006 survey by WWF Pakistan found 145 urials in Surghar, Srakhowa District Musakhe.
Behaviour and ecology
The mating season begins in September. Rams select four or five ewes, which give birth to a lamb after a gestation of five months.[citation needed]
Taxonomy
- Ovis vignei was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1841 for wild sheep in the Sulaiman Mountains.[2]
References
- ^ a b Michel, S. & Ghoddousi, A. (2020). "Ovis vignei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T54940655A54940728. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Blyth, E. (1841). "An Amended List of the Species of the Genus Ovis". The Annals and Magazine of natural history; zoology, botany, and geology. 7 (44): 248–261.
- Nowak R. M.: Walker's Mammals of the World, Sixth Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, London, 1999.
- Namgail, T., van Wieren, S.E., Mishra, C. & Prins, H.H.T. (2010). Multi-spatial co-distribution of the endangered Ladakh urial and blue sheep in the arid Trans-Himalayan Mountains. Journal of Arid Environments, 74:1162-1169.
- Lingen, H.: Großes Lexikon der Tiere. Lingen Verlag, Köln.
- Prater, S. H.: The Book of Indian Animals, Oxford University Press, 1971.
- Menon, V.: A Field Guide to Indian Mammals, Dorling Kindersley, India, 2003
- CITES Instruktion für den grenztierärztlichen Dienst
- Proposal about subspecies of Urial
- Yahya M. Musakhel et al. 2006: Identification of Biodiversity Hot Spots in Musakhel District balochistan Pakistan.