Bighorn Sheep - China Plastic Injection Machine - China Injection Plastic Machine

Taxonomy and genetics

Taxonomy and genetics

Ovis canadensis is one of three species of mountain sheep in North America and Siberia; the other two species being Ovis dalli, that includes Dall Sheep and Stone's Sheep, and the Siberian Snow sheep Ovis nivicola. Wild sheep crossed the Bering land bridge from Siberia during the Pleistocene (~750,000 years ago) and, subsequently, spread through western North America as far south as Baja California and northwestern mainland Mexico. Divergence from their closest Asian ancestor (Snow sheep) occurred about 600,000 years ago. In North America, wild sheep have diverged into two extant speciesall Sheep that occupy Alaska and northwestern Canada, and Bighorn Sheep that range from southern Canada to Mexico. However, the status of these species is questionable given that hybridization has occurred between them in their recent evolutionary history.

Subspecies

In 1940, Cowan taxonomically split the species into seven subspecies:

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis canadensis. Habitat: from British Columbia to Arizona.

California Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis californiana. Owens defined the habitat from British Columbia down to California and over to North Dakota. The definition of this subspecies has been updated (see below).

Nelson's Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis nelsoni, the most common Desert Bighorn Sheep, ranges from California through Arizona.

Mexicana Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis mexicana, range from Arizona and New Mexico down to Sonora and Chihuahua.

Peninsular Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis cremnobates. Habitat: the Peninsular Ranges of California and Baja California.

Weems' Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis weemsi. Habitat: Baja California.

Audubon's Bighorn Sheep Ovis canadensis auduboni. Habitat: North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska. Extinct since 1925.

However, starting in 1993, Ramey and colleagues, using DNA testing, have shown that this division into seven subspecies is largely illusory. The latest science shows that Bighorn Sheep is one species, with 3 subspecies O. c. canadensis, O. c. nelsoni, and O. c. sierrae. O. c. sierrae is a genetically distinct subspecies that only occurs in the Sierra Nevada. O. c. nelsoni occur throughout the southwestern desert regions of the U.S. and Mexico, whereas O. c. canadensis occupy the U.S. and Canadian Rocky Mountains and the northwestern U.S.

The taxononomy of Ovis canadensis continues to be modified as new genetic and morphologic data becomes available but most scientists currently recognize the following subspecies of bighorn:

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis)

Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae), formerly California Bighorn Sheep,

Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni)

In addition, there are currently two populations considered endangered by the United States government:

Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae), recognized as a unique subspecies

Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, a distinct population segment of Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni)

Characteristics and lifestyle

A Bighorn ram following a ewe.

Three male Bighorn Sheep discover a natural salt lick along Guanella Pass, a few miles south of Georgetown, Colorado.

Bighorn Sheep are named for the large, curved horns borne by the males, or rams. Females, or ewes, also have horns, but they are short with only a slight curvature. They range in color from light brown to grayish or dark, chocolate brown, with a white rump and lining on the back of all four legs. Males typically weigh 127-316lb (58143kg), are 36-41 in (90105cm) tall at the shoulder, and 69-79 in (176200cm) long from the nose to the tail. Females typically are 75-188lb (3485kg), 30-36 in (7590cm) tall and 54-67 in (138171cm) long. Bighorns from the Rocky Mountains are relatively large, with males that occasionally exceed 500lb (230kg) and females that exceed 200lb (90kg). In contrast, Sierra Nevada Bighorn males weigh up to only 200lb (90kg) and females to 140lb (60kg). Males' horns can weigh up to 30lb (14kg), as much as the rest of the bones in the male's body.

Bighorn sheep graze on grasses and browse shrubs, particularly in fall and winter, and seek minerals at natural salt licks. Bighorns are well adapted to climbing steep terrain where they seek cover from predators such as coyotes, golden eagles, and cougars. They live in large herds, but do not have the strict dominance hierarchy of the mouflon: that is, they do not automatically follow a single leader ram, unlike the Asiatic ancestors of the domestic sheep.

Prior to the mating season or "rut", the rams attempt to establish a dominance hierarchy that determines access to ewes for mating. It is during the prerut period that most of the characteristic horn clashing occurs between rams, although this behavior may occur to a limited extent throughout the year. Ram's horns can frequently exhibit damage from repeated clashes. Bighorn ewes exhibit a six-month gestation. In temperate climates, the peak of the rut occurs in November with one, or rarely two, lambs being born in May. The lambs are then weaned when they reach 46 months.

Bighorn Sheep are considered good indicators of land health because the species is sensitive to many human-induced environmental problems. In addition to their aesthetic value, Bighorn Sheep are considered desirable game animals by hunters. The Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada Bighorn occupy the cooler mountainous regions of Canada and the United States. In contrast, the Desert Bighorn Sheep subspecies are indigenous to the hot desert ecosystems of the Southwestern United States.

Bighorn Sheep are highly susceptible to certain diseases carried by domestic sheep such as scabies and pneumonia; additional mortality occurs as a result of accidents involving rock fall or falling off cliffs (a hazard of living in steep, rugged terrain).

Relationship with humans

A juvenile

Two hundred years ago, Bighorn Sheep were widespread throughout the western United States, Canada, and northern Mexico. Some estimates placed their population at higher than 2 million. However, by around 1900, hunting, competition from domesticated sheep, and diseases had decreased the population to only several thousand. A program of reintroductions, natural parks, and reduced hunting, together with a decrease in domesticated sheep near the end of World War II, allowed the Bighorn Sheep to make a comeback, though not before Ovis canadensis auduboni, a sub-species that lived in the Black Hills, went extinct.

A female Bighorn Sheep at the Grand Canyon

Boy Scouts

In 1936, the Arizona Boy Scouts mounted a state-wide campaign to save the Bighorn Sheep. The Scouts first became interested in the sheep through the efforts of Major Frederick Russell Burnham, the noted conservationist who has been called the Father of Scouting. Burnham observed that fewer than 150 of these sheep still lived in the Arizona mountains. He called George F. Miller, then scout executive of the boy scout council headquartered in Phoenix, with a plan to save the sheep. Burnham put it this way:

I want you to save this majestic animal, not only because it is in danger of extinction, but of more importance, some day it might provide domestic sheep with a strain to save them from disaster at the hands of a yet unknown virus.

Several other prominent Arizonans join the movement and a save the bighorns poster contest was started in schools throughout the state. Burnham provided prizes and appeared in store windows from one end of Arizona to the other. The contest-winning bighorn emblem was made up into neckerchief slides for the 10,000 boy scouts, and talks and dramatizations were given at school assemblies and on radio. The National Wildlife Federation, the Izaak Walton League, and the National Audubon Society also joined the effort.

These efforts led to the establishment of two Bighorn game ranges in Arizona: Kofa National Wildlife Refuge and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. On January 18, 1939, over 1,500,000acres (6,100km2) were set aside and a civilian conservation corp side camp was set up to develop high mountain waterholes for the sheep. The Desert Bighorn Sheep is now the official mascot for the Arizona Boy Scouts.

In culture

Bighorn sheep in Silver Canyon near the town of Bishop, California.

Bighorn Sheep were amongst the most admired animals of the Apsaalooka, or Crow, people, and what is today called the Bighorn Mountain Range was central to the Apsaalooka tribal lands. In the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area book, storyteller Old Coyote describes a legend related to the Bighorn Sheep. A man possessed by evil spirits attempts to kill his heir by pushing the young man over a cliff, but the victim is saved by getting caught in trees. Rescued by Bighorn sheep, the man takes the name of their leader, Big Metal. The other sheep grant him power, wisdom, sharp eyes, sure footedness, keen ears, great strength, and a strong heart. Big Metal returns to his people with the message that the Apsaalooka people will survive only so long as the river winding out of the mountains is known as the Bighorn River.

Bighorn Sheep are hunted for their meat and horns, which are used in ceremonies, as food, and as hunting trophies. They also serve as a source of eco-tourism, as tourists come to see the famed Bighorn Sheep in their native habitat.[citation needed]

The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep is the provincial mammal of Alberta and the state animal of Colorado and as such is incorporated into the symbol for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

Bighorn Sheep were once known by the scientific identification argali or argalia due to assumption that they were the same animal as the Asiatic Argali (Ovis ammon). Lewis and Clark recorded numerous sightings of Ovis canadensis in the journals of their explorationometimes using the name Argalia. In addition, they recorded the use of bighorn sheep by the Shoshone in making bows. William Clark's Track Map produced after the expedition in 1814 indicates a tributary of the Yellowstone River named Argalia Creek and a tributary of the Missouri River named Argalia River, both in what is today Montana. Neither of these tributaries retained these names however. The Bighorn River another tributary of the Yellowstone, and its tributary stream the Little Bighorn River indicated on Clark's map did retain their names, the latter being the namesake of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

References

^ Festa-Bianchet, M. (2008). Ovis canadensis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 2009-02-05.

^ Allen, J. A. 1912 "Historical and nomenclatorial notes on North American sheep." Bulletin of the AMNH v. 31, article 1

^ Ovis canadensis (TSN 180711). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 18 March 2006.

^ Grubb, Peter (16 November 2005). Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds). ed. Mammal Species of the World (3rd edition ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200835.

^ [www.ultimateungulate.com/Artiodactyla/Ovis_canadensis.html Ultimate Ungulate page: Bighorn Sheep.]

^ a b Cowan, I. McT (1940). "Distribution and variation in the native sheep of North America". American Midland Naturalist 24 (3): 505580. doi:10.2307/2420858. http://216.74.126.7/~haul/bighorn/wildsheep.htm.

^ a b Ramey, R. R. II (1993) (Ph.D. Thesis). Evolutionary genetics and systematics of North American mountain sheep. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

^ Loehr, J.; K. Worley, A. Grapputo, J. Carey, A. Veitch and D. W. Coltman (2006). "Evidence for cryptic glacial refugia from North American mountain sheep mitochondrial DNA". Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19 (2): 419430. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01027.x. PMID 16599918.

^ Wehausen, J. D.; R. R. Ramey II (1993). "A morphometric reevaluation of the Peninsular bighorn subpecies". Trans. Desert Bighorn Council 37: 110.

^ Wehausen, J.D.; R.R. Ramey II (2000). "Cranial morphometric and evolutionary relationships in the northern range of Ovis canadensis". J. Mammology 81: 145161. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2000)0812.0.CO;2.

^ a b Wehausen, J. D.; V. C. Bleich, and R. R. Ramey II (2005). "Correct nomenclature for Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep". California Fish and Game 91: 216218.

^ Caprinae Specialist Group (1996). Ovis canadensis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 9 May 2006.

^ http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=MA0042

^ "Ovis canadensis". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ovis_canadensis.html.

^ Valdez, R.; P. R. Krausman (1999). Mountain Sheep of North America. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

^ van Wyk, Peter (2000). "Burnham: King of Scouts". Trafford Publishing. http://www.burnhamkingofscouts.com/. Retrieved 2007-03-30.

^ a b c Edward H. Saxton (March 1978). "Saving the Desert Bighorns". Desert Magazine 41 (3). http://www.scribd.com/doc/2404512/197803DesertMagazine1978March. Retrieved 2008-04-27.

^ Graetz, Rick; Susie Graetz. "Introduction to the Crow". Little Big Horn College Library. http://lib.lbhc.cc.mt.us/about/intro.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-18.

^ "Colorado State Symbols". http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/history/symbemb.htm. retrieved July 25, 2007.

^ Stewart, George R., Jr. (December 1935). "Popular Names of the Mountain Sheep". American Speech (Duke University Press) 10 (4): 283288. doi:10.2307/451603.

^ Tubbs, Stephenie Ambrose; Jenkinson, Clay Straus (2003). The Lewis and Clark Companion: An Encyclopedia Guide to the Voyage of Discovery. Henry Holt and Company. pp.1213.

^ Lewis, Samuel; William Clark (1814). "A Map of Lewis and Clark's track across the western portion of North America, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean". Longman, Hurst, Reese, Orme and Brown. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?gmd:71:./temp/~ammem_lg8U:. Retrieved 2007-03-11.

Other sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ovis canadensis

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Species Profile

Photos & Information on Wild Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep in Nevada.

Animal Diversity site

NatureServe website

BIGHORN-SHEEP.com

Texas Bighorn WebCam

BIGHORN.org

Rocky Mountain bighorn research

Greater Yellowstone Resource Guide - Bighorn Sheep

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Extant Artiodactyla species

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Eutheria Superorder: Laurasiatheria

Suborder Ruminantia

Antilocapridae

Antilocapra

Pronghorn (A. americana)

Giraffidae

Okapia

Okapi (O. johnstoni)

Giraffa

Giraffe (G. camelopardalis)

Moschidae

Moschus

Himalayan Musk Deer (M. chrysogaster) Siberian Musk Deer (M. moschiferus) Dwarf Musk Deer (M. berezovskii) Black Musk Deer (M. fuscus)

Tragulidae

Hyemoschus

Water Chevrotain (H. aquaticus)

Moschiola

Indian Spotted Chevrotain (M. meminna) M. kathygre

Tragulus

Java Mouse-deer (T. javanicus) Lesser Mouse-deer (T. kanchil) Greater Mouse-deer (T. napu) Philippine Mouse-deer (T. nigricans) Vietnam Mouse-deer (T. versicolor) Williamson's Mouse-deer (T. williamsoni)

Cervidae

Large family listed below

Bovidae

Large family listed below

Family Cervidae

Muntiacinae

Muntiacus

Indian Muntjac (M. muntjak) Reeves's Muntjac (M. reevesi) Hairy-fronted Muntjac (M. crinifrons) Fea's Muntjac (M. feae) Bornean Yellow Muntjac (M. atherodes) Roosevelt's muntjac (M. rooseveltorum) Gongshan muntjac (M. gongshanensis) Giant Muntjac (M. vuquangensis) Truong Son Muntjac (M. truongsonensis) Leaf muntjac (M. putaoensis)

Elaphodus

Tufted deer (E. cephalophus)

Cervinae

Cervus

Red Deer (C. elaphus) Elk (C. canadensis) Thorold's deer (C. albirostris) Sika Deer (C. nippon) Barasingha (C. duvaucelii) Eld's Deer (C. eldii) Sambar Deer (C. unicolor) Rusa Deer (C. timorensis) Philippine Sambar (C. mariannus) Philippine Spotted Deer (C. alfredi)

Axis

Chital (A. axis) Hog deer (A. porcinus) Calamian Deer (A. calamianensis) Bawean Deer (A. kuhlii)

Elaphurus

Pre David's Deer (E. davidianus)

Dama

Fallow Deer (D. dama) Persian fallow deer (D. mesopotamica)

Hydropotinae

Hydropotes

Water deer (H. inermis)

Capreolinae

Odocoileus

White-tailed deer (O. virginianus) Mule deer (O. hemionus)

Blastocerus

Marsh Deer (B. dichotomus)

Ozotoceros

Pampas deer (O. bezoarticus)

Mazama

Red Brocket (M. americana) Small Red Brocket (M. bororo) Merida Brocket (M. bricenii) Dwarf Brocket (M. chunyi) Gray Brocket (M. gouazoubira) Pygmy Brocket (M. nana) Fair Brocket (M. ochroleuca) Yucatan Brown Brocket (M. pandora) Little Red Brocket (M. rufina) Central American Red Brocket (M. temama)

Pudu

Northern Pudu (P. mephistophiles) Pud (P. pudu)

Hippocamelus

Taruca (H. antisensis) South Andean Deer (H. bisulcus)

Capreolus

Roe Deer (C. capreolus) Siberian Roe Deer (C. pygargus)

Rangifer

Reindeer (R. tarandus)

Alces

Moose (A. alces)

Family Bovidae

Cephalophinae

Cephalophus

Abbott's Duiker (C. spadix) Aders' Duiker (C. adersi) Bay Duiker (C. dorsalis) Black Duiker (C. niger) Black-fronted Duiker (C. nigrifrons) Blue Duiker (C. monticola) Harvey's Duiker (C. harveyi) Jentink's Duiker (C. jentinki) Maxwell's Duiker (C. maxwellii) Red Forest Duiker (C. natalensis) Ogilby's Duiker (C. ogilbyi) Peters's Duiker (C. callipygus) Red-flanked Duiker (C. rufilatus) Ruwenzori Duiker (C. rubidis) Weyns's Duiker (C. weynsi) White-bellied Duiker (C. leucogaster) Yellow-backed Duiker (C. Sylvicultor) Zebra Duiker (C. zebra)

Sylvicapra

Common Duiker (S. grimmia)

Hippotraginae

Hippotragus

Roan Antelope (H. equinus) Sable Antelope (H. niger)

Oryx

East African Oryx (O. beisa) Scimitar Oryx (O. dammah) Gemsbok (O. gazella) Arabian Oryx (O. leucoryx)

Addax

Addax (A. nasomaculatus)

Reduncinae

Kobus

Upemba Lechwe (K. anselli) Waterbuck (K. ellipsiprymnus) Kob (K. kob) Lechwe (K. leche) Nile Lechwe (K. megaceros) Puku (K. vardonii)

Redunca

Southern Reedbuck (R. arundinum) Mountain Reedbuck (R. fulvorufula) Bohor Reedbuck (R. redunca)

Aepycerotinae

Aepyceros

Impala (A. melampus)

Peleinae

Pelea

Grey Rhebok (P. capreolus)

Alcelaphinae

Beatragus

Hirola (B. hunteri)

Damaliscus

Korrigum (D. korrigum) Common Tsessebe (D. lunatus) Bontebok (D. pygargus) Bangw

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