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Barbary Sheep
	Barbary Sheep
Conservation status
	; Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Chordata;
Class:	Mammalia;
Order:	Artiodactyla;
Family:	Bovidae;
Subfamily:	Caprinae;
Genus:	Ammotragus; Blyth, 1840
Species:	A. lervia;
Binomial name
	Ammotragus lervia; Pall., 1777
Subspecies
	A. l. angusi Rothschild, 1921; A. l. blainei Rothschiild, 1913; A. l. lervia Pallas, 1777; A. l. fassini Lepri, 1930; A. l. ornatus † I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827; A. l. sahariensis Rothschild, 1913
Synonyms
	Antilope lervia; Capra lervia

The Barbary Sheep, Ammotragus lervia, is a species of caprid (goat-antelope) native to rocky mountains in North Africa. Six subspecies have been described. Although it is rare in its native North Africa, it has been introduced to North America, southern Europe and elsewhere.

[edit] Description

Barbary Sheep stand 80 to 100 cm (2.6 to 3.3 ft) tall at the shoulder and weigh 40 to 140 kg (88 to 310 lb). They are a sandy-brown color, darkening with age, with a slightly lighter underbelly and a darker line along the back. Upper parts and the outer parts of the legs are a uniform reddish-brown or grayish-brown. There is some shaggy hair on the throat (extending down to the chest in males) and a sparse mane. Their horns have a triangular cross section. The horns curve outwards, backwards then inwards, and reach up to 50 cm (20 in). The horns are smooth, but wrinkled at the base.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Range

[edit] Natural range

Barbary Sheep are found naturally in northern Africa in Algeria, Tunisia, northern Chad, Egypt, Libya, northern Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including Western Sahara), Niger and Sudan (west of the Nile and east of the Nile in the Red Sea Hills)^[4].

[edit] Introduced populations

Barbary Sheep have been introduced to southeastern Spain and southwestern United States (on La Escalera Ranch, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, and other parts of Texas, New Mexico, and California) and Mexico and to some parts of Africa.

Barbary sheep have become common in a limited region of the south-east of Spain, since its introduction in 1970 to Sierra Espuña National Park as a game species. Its adaptability enabled it to colonise nearby areas quickly, and private game estates provided other centers of dispersion. The species is currently expanding, according to recent field surveys, now being found in the provinces of Alicante, Almería, Granada and Murcia.^[5] This species is a potential competitor to native ungulates inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula. The species has also been introduced to La Palma (Canary Islands), and has spread throughout the northern and central parts of the island, where it is a serious threat to endemic vegetation.

[edit] Taxonomy

A. lervia is the only species in the genus Ammotragus. However, some authors include this genus in the goat genus Capra, together with the sheep genus Ovis.^[3]

The subspecies are found allopatrically in various parts of North Africa:^[4]

Ammotragus lervia lervia Pallas, 1777. (vulnerable)
Egyptian Barbary Sheep Ammotragus lervia ornatus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827. (extinct in the wild)
Ammotragus lervia sahariensis Rothschild, 1913. (vulnerable)
Ammotragus lervia blainei Rothschild, 1913. (vulnerble)
Ammotragus lervia angusi Rothschild, 1921. (vulnerable)
Ammotragus lervia fassini Lepri, 1930. (vulnerable)

[edit] Habitats

Barbary Sheep

Barbary Sheep are found in arid mountainous areas where they graze and browse grass, bushes and lichens. They are able to obtain all their moisture from food, but if liquid water is available they drink it and wallow in it. Barbary Sheep are crepuscular: active in the early morning and late afternoon and resting in the heat of the day. They are very agile and can achieve a standing jump of over 2 metres (7 ft). Barbary Sheep are usually solitary, and freeze in the presence of danger. Their main predators in North Africa are leopard and caracal.

[edit] Names

The binomial name Ammotragus lervia derives from the Greek ammos ("sand", referring to the sand-coloured coat) and tragos ("goat"). Lervia derives from the wild sheep of northern Africa described as "lerwee" by Rev. T. Shaw in his "Travels and Observations" about parts of Barbary and Levant.

Aoudad ([ˈɑː.uːdæd]) is the name for this sheep used by the Berbers, a North African people, and it is also called arui and waddan (in Libya).

[edit] Gallery

A Barbary Sheep seeks handouts at a Texas wildlife park.	A ewe and lamb rest in the shade of a tree.	Lamb (closeup)	Barbary Sheep at the Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio, TX.
Barbary Sheep at Tierpark Hagenbeck, Hamburg, Germany	Ewes and a juvenile at Zoologischer Garten, Berlin, Germany	Babary sheep at Tennōji Zoo, Japan	Head of a ram

[edit] References

^ Cassinello, J., Cuzin, F., Jdeidi, T., Masseti, M., Nader, I. & de Smet, K. (2008). Ammotragus lervia. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 11 November 2008. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of Vulnerable C1.
^ Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200753.
^ ^a ^b Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200767.
^ ^a ^b Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200754.
^ Cassinello, J.; Serrano, E.; Calabuig, G. & Pérez, J.M. (2004). Range expansion of an exotic ungulate (Ammotragus lervia) in southern Spain: ecological and conservation concerns. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 851-866

[edit] Bibliography

Cassinello, J. (1998). Ammotragus lervia: a review on systematics, biology, ecology and distribution. Annales Zoologici Fennici 35: 149-162
Wacher, T., Baha El Din, S., Mikhail, G. & Baha El Din, M. (2002). New observations of the "extinct" Aoudad Ammotragus lervia ornata in Egypt. Oryx 36: 301–304.

[edit] External links

[iucn-0] Cassinello, J., Cuzin, F., Jdeidi, T., Masseti, M., Nader, I. & de Smet, K. (2008). Ammotragus lervia. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 11 November 2008. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of Vulnerable C1.

[msw3_Ammotragus-1] Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200753.

[msw3_Capra-2] Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200767.

[msw3-3] Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200754.

[4] Cassinello, J.; Serrano, E.; Calabuig, G. & Pérez, J.M. (2004). Range expansion of an exotic ungulate (Ammotragus lervia) in southern Spain: ecological and conservation concerns. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 851-866

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