Pyrenean chamois

The Pyrenean chamois (Spanish: rebeco or gamuza, French: izard or isard, Asturian: rebezu or robezu, Catalan: isard, Italian: camoscio dei Pirenei, camoscio appenninico, Basque: Pirinioetako sarrioa, Aragonese: sarrio or chizardo), Rupicapra pyrenaica, is a goat-antelope that lives in the Pyrenees, Cantabrian Mountains and Apennine Mountains. It is one of the two species of the genus Rupicapra, the other being the chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra. It is in the bovid subfamily Caprinae, along with sheep and goats.

Pyrenean chamois

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Genus: Rupicapra
Species:
R. pyrenaica
Binomial name
Rupicapra pyrenaica
(Bonaparte, 1845)

Up to 80 cm tall, its summer coat is a ruddy brown; in winter it is black/brown with darker patches around the eyes. Both males and females have backward-hooked horns up to 20 cm in length. They browse on grass, lichens and buds of trees. Sure-footed and agile, they are found anywhere up to 3000 m.

Like other species of chamois, it was hunted almost to extinction, especially in the 1940s, for the production of chamois leather. The population has since recovered and in 2002 was estimated to be about 25,000. (Pérez et al., 2002)

Subspecies
Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata
  • R. p. pyrenaica (Pyrenean chamois): France and Spain
  • R. p. parva (Cantabrian chamois): Spain
  • R. p. ornata (Abruzzo chamois): Central and southern Italy
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References
  1. Herrero, J.; Lovari, S. & Berducou, C. (2008). "Rupicapra pyrenaica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T19771A9012711. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T19771A9012711.en. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
  • Haack, M. 2002. Rupicapra pyrenaica. Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 20, 2006.
  • Pérez, T., Albornoz, J. & Domínguez, A. (2002). Phylogeography of chamois (Rupicapra spp.) inferred from microsatellites. Mol Phylogenet Evol. 25, 524–534.
  • Pérez-Barbería, F. J., García-González, R. (2004). "Rebeco – Rupicapra pyrenaica." Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles. Carrascal, L. M., Salvador, A. (Eds.). Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. Madrid, Spain.
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