Stone sheep
The Stone's sheep (or Stone sheep), Ovis dalli stonei, is the more southern subspecies of thinhorn sheep, Ovis dalli. These sheep are native to northwestern North America and survived recent glaciations in refugia located in northern British Columbia. Pelage colour variations range widely, from slate grey-brown with a white rump patch, dark tail and white on the inside of the hind legs, to an almost completely white/grey-white coat with a dark or black dorsal surface on the tail. Horns are curved in form and vary in colour from a yellowish-brown to dark brown horns.
| Stone sheep | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Caprinae |
| Genus: | Ovis |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | O. d. stonei |
| Trinomial name | |
| Ovis dalli stonei J. A. Allen, 1897 | |
The global population of Stone's sheep is primarily found in Northern British Columbia and can often be seen licking minerals along the side of the Alaska Highway in areas such as Summit Lake, Stone Mountain Provincial Park, and Muncho Lake Provincial Park.
External links
- Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Wild Sheep Working Group publication .
- Genome-wide set of SNPs reveals evidence for two glacial refugia and admixture from postglacial recolonization in an alpine ungulate .
- Management implications of highly resolved hierarchical population genetic structure in thinhorn sheep .
- Determining the Maturity of Stone's Sheep Rams - Information for hunters on determining age and maturity of Stone sheep rams.