The Ustyurt mountain sheep (''Ovis vignei cycloceros''), often referred to as the Turkmenian mountain sheep, is a subspecies of the

urial The urial ( ; ''Ovis vignei''), also known as arkars, shapo, or shapu, is a wild sheep native to Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Taxonomy ''Ovis vignei'' was the scientific name proposed by Edward Bly ...

that inhabits the mountain plateau regions of parts of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

, especially the Ustyurt plateau from which it takes its name. It is particularly common in northern and eastern

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

and western

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

. A number of reserves have been established in Central Asia to protect the sheep and other wildlife. The sheep are found in Gaplaňgyr Nature Reserve for instance.

References

External links

Central Asian northern desert
{{Taxonbar, from=Q839513 vignei Mammals of Central Asia