Snow sheep
| Snow sheep | |
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Conservation status
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Genus: | Ovis |
| Species: | O. nivicola
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| Binomial name | |
| Ovis nivicola Eschscholtz, 1829
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The snow sheep (Ovis nivicola), or Siberian bighorn sheep, is a species of sheep from the mountainous areas in the northeast of Siberia. One subspecies, the Putorana snow sheep (Ovis nivicola borealis), lives isolated from the other forms in the Putoran Mountains.
Subspecies[]
- Kolyma snow sheep, O. n. ssp[citation needed]
- Koryak snow sheep, O. n. koriakorum
- Okhotsk snow sheep, O. n. alleni
- Yakutian snow sheep, O. n. lydekkeri
- Kamchatkan snow sheep, O. n. nivicola
- Putorana snow sheep, O. n. borealis
- Chukotka snow sheep, O. n. tschuktschorum[1]
Taxonomy and genetics[]
Ovis nivicola appeared about 600,000 years ago. These wild sheep crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia into Alaska during the Pleistocene (about 750,000 years ago); the sheep diverged into the three extant species. The snow sheep is most closely related to the North American bighorn sheep and Dall sheep.
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Harris, R.B. & Tsytsulina. K. (2008). "Ovis nivicola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T15740A5076357. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T15740A5076357.en. Retrieved 12 January 2018. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
External links[]
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Categories:
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Ovis
- Mammals described in 1829
- Sheep stubs