Pyrenean chamois

The Pyrenean chamois (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.

Pyrenean chamois
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Tribe: Caprini
Genus: Rupicapra
Species:
R. pyrenaica
Binomial name
Rupicapra pyrenaica
(Bonaparte, 1845)
Distribution of Pyrenean chamois

Names

Description

Up to 80 cm tall, its summer coat is a ruddy brown; in winter, it is black or 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 on any elevation up to 3000 m.

Conservation

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 individuals.[2]

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

References
  1. Herrero, J.; Lovari, S.; Nores, C.; Toigo, C. (2020). "Rupicapra pyrenaica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T19771A171131310. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T19771A171131310.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 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.
  • 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.
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