The Pelibüey or is a Cuban

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

domestic sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to ...

. It is found principally in Cuba, where it is the most numerous breed of sheep, but is also reared elsewhere in the Caribbean and in some coastal parts of Mexico. It is a hair sheep – its coat is of hair, not

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

; this is a common adaptation to

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

environments. It is likely that it derives at least in part from African breeds of sheep such as the West African Dwarf, and probable that it is related to other American breeds of African origin such as the

Barbados Black Belly The Barbados Black Belly is a breed of domestic sheep from the Caribbean island of Barbados. It is raised primarily for meat. Unlike most tropical sheep, it is highly prolific, with an average litter size of approximately 2. It is widely dis ...

, the

Roja Africana Roja may refer to: Film and television * ''Roja'' (film), a 1992 Tamil-language film by director Mani Ratnam ** ''Roja'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film * ''Roja'' (Tamil TV series), a 2018 soap opera * ''Roja'' (Telugu TV ser ...

of Venezuela and the

Oveja Africana Roberto "Oveja" Telch (6 November 1943 – 12 October 2014) was an Argentine footballer who played as a midfielder. He was born in San Vicente, Córdoba, and won four league championships with San Lorenzo in Argentina and represented the Arg ...

of Colombia. It is raised primarily for

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

References

Sheep breeds {{bots, deny=Citation bot