Mouflon

Mouflon
Male Cyprus mouflon (Ovis gmelini ophion)
Conservation status
Near Threatened(IUCN 3.1)
CITESAppendix I(CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae
Tribe:	Caprini
Genus:	Ovis
Species:	O. gmelini
Binomial name
Ovis gmelini Blyth,1841
Range of theOvis gmelini

Themouflon(Ovis gmelini) is awild sheepnative to Cyprus, and theCaspianregion, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran.It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all moderndomestic sheepbreeds.

Taxonomy

Ovis gmeliniwas thescientific nameproposed byEdward Blythin 1841 for wild sheep in theMiddle East. In the 19th and 20th centuries, several wild sheep were described that are considered mouflonsubspeciestoday:

• Ovis ophionby Blyth in 1841 for wild sheep inCyprus;
• Ovis laristanicabyNikolai Nasonovin 1909 for wild sheep inLarin southern Iran;
• Ovis orientalis isphahanicaby Nasonov in 1910 for wild sheep in theZagros Mountains.

Subspecies

Five mouflonsubspeciesare distinguished byMSW3:

• Armenian mouflon(Armenian red sheep),O. g. gmelini(Blyth, 1851):nominate subspecies;native to northwesternIran,Armenia,andAzerbaijan.It has been introduced to Texas in the U.S.
• Esfahan mouflon,O. g. isphahanica(Nasonov, 1910):Zagros Mountains,Iran.
• Laristan mouflon,O. g. laristanica(Nasonov, 1909):a small subspecies, its range is restricted to some desert reserves nearLarin southern Iran.
• Cyprus mouflon,O. g. ophion(Blyth, 1841):also calledagrino(from the GreekΑγρινό); nearly driven to extinction during the 20th century. In 1997, about 1,200 individuals were counted. The television showBorn to Explore with Richard Wiesereported 3,000 individuals onCyprus.

TheEuropean mouflonwas once thought to be a subspecies of the mouflon, but is now considered to be a feral descendant of the domestic sheep (Ovis aries), asOvis aries musimon.

Relation to other sheep

Based on comparison of mitochondrialcytochrome bgene sequences, three groups of sheep (Ovis) have been identified: Pachyceriforms of Siberia (snow sheep) and North America (bighornandDall sheep), Argaliforms (argali) of Central Asia, and Moufloniforms (urial,mouflon, anddomestic sheep) of Eurasia.However, a comparison of themitochondrial DNAcontrol region (CR) found that two subspecies of urial,Ovis vignei(ororientalis)arkalandO. v./o. bochariensis,grouped with two different clades of argali (Ovis ammon).

The ancestral sheep is presumed to have had 60chromosomes,as in goats (Capra). Mouflon and domestic sheep have 54 chromosomes, with three pairs (1+3, 2+8, 5+11) of ancestral acrocentric chromosomes joined to form bi-armed chromosomes. This is in contrast to the argali and urial, which have 56 and 58 chromosomes respectively. If the urial is as closely related to the mouflons as mitochondrial DNA indicates, then two chromosomes would need to have split during its evolution away from the mouflon (sub)species.

Description

Ewe

Mouflon have reddish to dark brown, short-haired coats with dark back stripes and black ventral areas and light-colored saddle patches. The males arehorned;some females are horned, while others arepolled.The horns of mature rams are curved almost one full revolution (up to 85 cm). Mouflon have shoulder heights of around 0.9 m and body weights of 50 kg (males) and 35 kg (females).

Distribution and habitat

Mouflon are found in theLesser Caucasusin southeastern Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and in Iran's westernAlborzregion and theZagros Mountainsspanning eastern Iraq and western Iran.They were possibly introduced to Cyprus during theNeolithicperiod.

Behaviour and ecology

Reproduction

Mouflon rams have a strict dominance hierarchy. Before mating season or "rut", which is from late autumn to early winter, rams try to create a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes (female mouflon) for mating. Mouflon rams fight one another to obtain dominance and win an opportunity to mate with females. Mouflons reach sexual maturity at the age of two to four years. Young rams need to obtain dominance before they get a chance to mate, which takes another three years. Mouflon ewes also go through a similar hierarchy process in terms of social status in the first two years, but can breed even at low status. Pregnancy in females lasts five months, in which they produce one to two offspring.

A mouflon was cloned successfully in early 2001, and lived at least seven months, making it the first clone of an endangered mammal to survive beyond infancy.This demonstrated that a common species (in this case, a domestic sheep) can successfully become a surrogate for the birth of an exotic animal such as the mouflon. If cloning of the mouflon can proceed successfully, it has the potential to reduce strain on the number of living specimens.

Conservation

The mouflon is protected in Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Turkey and Iran, hunting is only allowed with a special license. The population in Cyprus is listed as a strictly protected species in theHabitats Directiveof the European Union and has been listed inCITES Appendix Isince November 2019.

In culture

The male mouflon is calledMufroin Corsica, and the femaleMufra;the French naturalistBuffon(1707–1788) rendered this in French asmoufflon.In Sardinia, the male is calledMurvoni,and the femaleMurva,though it is not unusual to hear the peasants style both indiscriminatelyMufion,which is a palpable corruption of the GreekOphion.

• The mouflon was the logo ofCyprus Airways until 2015,and is depicted on the 1-, 2-, and 5-centCypriot euro coins.
• The mouflon is featured on the historical flag of the ArmeniankingdomofSyunik,and on tombstones.
• The mouflon is the symbol and the nickname of theCyprus national rugby union team.
• The mouflon is the official mascot of Craghoppers, the UK outdoor clothing manufacturer.

See also

• Castlemilk Moorit
• Urial