Rupicapra

Rupicapra is a genus of goat-antelope called the chamois. They belong to the bovine family of hoofed mammals, the Bovidae.

Rupicapra
Chamois
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Rupicapra
Blainville, 1816
Type species
Rupicapra rupicapra
Range of Rupicapra during the Holocene (grey) and present range (red)

Two extant species are recognized.[1]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Rupicapra rupicapraAlpine chamoisthe mountains of southern and central Europe and Turkey and the Caucasus in southwest Asia
Rupicapra pyrenaicaPyrenean chamoisthe Pyrenees (a mountain range in southwestern Europe)

A 2014 study by Durham University discovered that these goats are shrinking in size due to global warming and climatic changes.[2]

References

  1. Grubb, P. (2005). "Order Artiodactyla". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 711–712. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. "Mountain Goats Are Shrinking—A Lot—Because of Global Warming". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 23 October 2014.


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