The Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia''), also known as aoudad (pronounced
ïżœÉÊdĂŠd, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
caprine native to rocky mountains in
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
and parts of
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
.
While this is the
only species in genus ''Ammotragus'', six
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
have been described. Although it is rare in its native North Africa, it has been
introduced to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, southern
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, and elsewhere. It is also known in the
Berber language
The Berber languages, also known as the Amazigh languages or Tamazight, are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They comprise a group of closely related but mostly mutually unintelligible languages spoken by Berber communities, who ar ...
as ''waddan'' or ''arwi'', and in former French territories as the mouflon.
Description
Barbary sheep stand tall at the shoulder, with a length around , and weigh . They are sandy-brown, 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- or grayish-brown. Some shaggy hair is on the
throat
In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the Human pharynx, pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the t ...
(extending down to the chest in males) with a sparse
mane. Their
horns have a
triangular cross-section
Cross section may refer to:
* Cross section (geometry)
** Cross-sectional views in architecture and engineering 3D
* Cross section (geology)
* Cross section (electronics)
* Radar cross section, measure of detectability
* Cross section (physics)
...
. The horns curve outward, backward, then inward, and can exceed in length. The horns are fairly smooth, with slight wrinkles evident at the base as the animal matures.
Range
Natural range
Barbary sheep are
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to regions of Northern Africa primarily surrounding the barren center of the
Sahara Desert
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
. Countries and territories where aoudad may be found include
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to AlgeriaâTunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to AlgeriaâLibya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
,
Chad
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to ChadâLibya border, the north, Sudan to ChadâSudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...
(north),
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
,
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to EgyptâLibya border, the east, Sudan to LibyaâSudan border, the southeast, Chad to ChadâL ...
,
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...
(north),
Mauritania
Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to MauritaniaâWestern Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
,
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to AlgeriaâMorocc ...
,
Niger
Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the LibyaâNiger border, north-east, Chad to the ChadâNiger border, east ...
,
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
and
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...
. West of the
Nile
The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...
, they can be found in
Sudan
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
; east of the Nile, in the
Red Sea Hills
ItbÄy () or ÊżAtbÄy is a region of southeastern Egypt and northeastern Sudan. It is characterized by a chain of mountains, the Red Sea Hills, running northâsouth and parallel with the Red Sea. The hills separate the narrow coastal plain from ...
.
The now-extinct
Ancient Egyptian corkscrew-horned sheep (''Ovis longipes palaeoaegyptiacus'') was also thought to be a subspecies of wild barbary sheep.
Populations within its native range have been decreasing due to hunting, legal and otherwise, and destruction of habitat.
Introduced populations
Barbary sheep have been introduced to southeastern
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and the southwestern
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
They have become common in a limited region of southeastern Spain, since its introduction in 1970 to
Sierra Espuña
The Sierra Espuña is a mountain range in the Region of Murcia, Spain. It is part of the Penibaetic System. The Sierra Espuña Regional Park protects 17,804 ha of the mountain range in the municipalities of Alhama de Murcia, Totana and Mula, Spai ...
Regional Park as a
game
A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...
species. Its adaptability enabled it to colonize 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
Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
,
AlmerĂa
AlmerĂa (, , ) is a city and municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of AlmerĂa, province of the same name. It lies in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Iberia on the Mediterranean S ...
,
Granada
Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
, and
Murcia
Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...
. The species is a potential competitor to native
ungulate
Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Euungulata ("true ungulates"), which primarily consists of large mammals with Hoof, hooves. Once part of the clade "Ungulata" along with the clade Paenungulata, "Ungulata" has since been determined ...
s inhabiting the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
, and has also been introduced to
La Palma
La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and historically San Miguel de La Palma, is the most northwesterly island of the Canary Islands, a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. La Pa ...
(in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
), and has spread throughout the northern and central parts of the island, where it is a serious threat to
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...
.
The aoudad has also been introduced in Croatia several times, where there is a population in
Mosor.
During the winter of 1957-1958, forty-two Barbary sheep were released in the
Palo Duro Canyon of Texas for the purpose of attracting hunters to the region.
Although the species has not yet been recorded in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, it is considered a pest species in
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
with the potential to establish in the wild.
Taxonomy
''A. lervia'' is the only species in the
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''Ammotragus''. However, some authors include this genus in the goat genus ''
Capra'', together with the sheep genus ''
Ovis
''Ovis'' is a genus of mammals, part of the Caprinae subfamily of the ruminant family (biology), family Bovidae. Its seven highly sociable species are known as sheep or ovines. Domestic sheep are members of the genus, and are thought to be des ...
''.
The subspecies are found
allopatric
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
ally in various parts of North Africa:
* ''A. l. lervia'' Pallas, 1777 (vulnerable)
* ''A. l. ornata'' I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827 (Egyptian Barbary sheep, thought to be
extinct in the wild but still found in the eastern desert of Egypt)
[Wacher, T., El Din, S. B., Mikhail, G., & El Din, M. B. (2002). New observations of the âextinctâ Barbary sheep ''Ammotragus lervia ornata'' in Egypt. ''Oryx'', 36(3), 301-304. ][Manlius, N., Menardi-Noguera, A. and Zboray, A. 2003. Decline of the Barbary sheep (''Ammotragus lervia'') in Egypt during the 20th century: literature review and recent observations. ''Journal of Zoology'' (London) 259: 403-409. ]
* ''A. l. sahariensis'' Rothschild, 1913 (vulnerable)
* ''A. l. blainei'' Rothschild, 1913 (vulnerable)
* ''A. l. angusi'' Rothschild, 1921 (vulnerable)
* ''A. l. fassini'' Lepri, 1930 (vulnerable)
Habitats
Barbary sheep are found in
arid
Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...
mountainous areas where they
graze and
browse grass
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
es,
bushes, and
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s. They are able to obtain all their
metabolic water from food, but if liquid water is available, they drink and wallow in it. Barbary sheep are
crepuscular
In zoology, a crepuscular animal is one that is active primarily during the twilight period, being matutinal (active during dawn), vespertine (biology), vespertine/vespertinal (active during dusk), or both. This is distinguished from diurnalit ...
- active in the early morning and late afternoon and rest in the heat of the day. They are very agile and can achieve a standing jump over . They are well adapted to their habitat, which consist of steep, rocky mountains and canyons. They often flee at the first sign of danger, typically running uphill. They are extremely nomadic and travel constantly via mountain ranges. Their main
predator
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
s in North Africa were the
Barbary leopard,
Barbary lion
The Barbary lion was a population of the lion subspecies '' Panthera leo leo''. It was also called North African lion, Atlas lion, and Egyptian lion. It lived in the mountains and deserts of the Maghreb of North Africa from Morocco to Egypt. It ...
, and
caracal
The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized Felidae, wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long ...
, but now humans, feral dogs, competition due to overgrazing by domestic animals and drought
threaten their populations.
Names
The
binomial name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...
''Ammotragus lervia'' derives from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
áŒÎŒÎŒÎżÏ ''ĂĄmmos'' ("sand", referring to the sand-coloured coat) and ÏÏÎŹÎłÎżÏ ''trĂĄgos'' ("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
The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...
and
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
.
The
Spanish named this sheep the ''arruis'', from Berber ''arrwis'', and the
Spanish Legion
For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the foreign regiments () such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the Penal la ...
even used it as a mascot for a time.
''Aoudad'' () is the name for this sheep used by the
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913â196 ...
s, a North African people, and it is also called ''arui'' and ''waddan'' (in
Libya
Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to EgyptâLibya border, the east, Sudan to LibyaâSudan border, the southeast, Chad to ChadâL ...
).
Gallery
File:BarbarySheep1.jpg, Barbary sheep seeks handouts at a Texas wildlife park
File:BarbarySheep2.jpg, Ewe and lamb rest in the shade of a tree
File:BarbarySheep3.jpg, Lamb (closeup)
File:Barbary Sheep (animal).jpg, Barbary sheep at the Wildlife Ranch in San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
File:MĂ€hnenspringer m w.jpg, Barbary sheep at Tierpark Hagenbeck, Hamburg, Germany
File:Zoo003.jpg, Ewes and a juvenile at Zoologischer Garten, Berlin, Germany
File:Barbary Sheep Tennoji.jpg, Barbary sheep at TennĆji Zoo, Japan
File:Arui02.jpg, Head of a ram
File:Aoudad skeleton.jpg, Skeleton of a Barbary sheep (Museum of Osteology
The Museum of Osteology, located in Oklahoma City, U.S., is a private museum devoted to the study of bones and skeletons (osteology). The museum displays over 450 skeletons of animal species from all over the world. With another 7,000 specimens a ...
)
File:Barbary Sheep.png, Captive Barbary sheep Safari West Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...
References
Further reading
* Cassinello, J. (1998). ''Ammotragus lervia'': a review on systematics, biology, ecology and distribution. ''Annales Zoologici Fennici'' 35: 149-162
* Cassinello, J. (2013). ''Ammotragus lervia'': 595â599. In: Mammals of Africa. Vol VI. Pigs, Hippopotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids. JS Kingdon & M Hoffmann (Eds.) Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
* Cassinello, J. (2015). ''Ammotragus lervia'' (aoudad). In: Invasive Species Compendium
http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/94507CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
* 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: 301â304.
External links
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051024060155/http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Ammotragus_lervia.html The Ultimate Ungulate entry on Barbary SheepBarbary Sheep in TexasBarbary Sheep in Sahara
{{Authority control
Caprids
Mammals of Africa
Mammals of North Africa
Mammals of the Middle East
Fauna of the Sahara
Vulnerable animals
Vulnerable biota of Africa
Vulnerable fauna of Asia
Mammals described in 1777
Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas