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Urial - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Urial
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The urial (Ovis orientalis vignei[2]), also known as the


arkars or shapo, is a subspecies group of the wild sheep
Ovis orientalis. Noticeable features are the reddish-brown
long fur that fades during winter; males are characterized by
a black ruff stretching from the neck to the chest and large
horns. It is found in western central Asia. The other
subspecies group of O. orientalis is the Mouflon (Ovis
orientalis orientalis group). The two groups have often been

Urial

considered separate species.[3]

Contents
Bukhara Urial (Ovis orientalis

1 Physical characteristics

bochariensis) at Nordens Ark, Sweden

2 Distribution

Conservation status

3 Behaviour
4 Subspecies
5 References
6 External links

Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1]


Scientific classification

Physical characteristics
Urial males have large horns, curling outwards from the top
of the head turning in to end somewhere behind the head;
females have shorter, compressed horns. The horns of the
males may be up to 100 cm (39 in) long. The shoulder
height of an adult male urial is between 80 and 90 cm (31
and 35 in).

Distribution

Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Mammalia

Order:

Artiodactyla

Family:

Bovidae

Genus:

Ovis

Species:

O. orientalis

Subspecies:

O. o. vignei

The urial is found in western central Asia from northeastern


Trinomial name
Iran and western Kazakhstan to Pakistan's Balochistan and
Ovis orientalis vignei
Ladakh regions of North India. To the east it is replaced by
the bigger argali and to the southwest by the Asiatic
mouflon. Its habitat consists of grassy slopes below the timberline. Urials rarely move to the rocky areas
of the mountains. For example in northern Iran they produce hybrids with Asiatic mouflon under natural
conditions. Urials feed mainly on grass but are able to eat leaves of trees and bushes if needed.
The conservation status of the urial is threatened as their habitat is perfectly suitable for human
development; however the urial population has been recovering in recent years.
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31/12/2014

Urial - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Afghan urial found in Musakhel district in Surghar and Torghar. in 2005-2006 survey by WWF
Pakistan shows 145 urials found in Surghar, Srakhowa District Musakhe. Yahay Musakhel et al. 2006)

Behaviour
The mating season begins in September. Rams (which live separately at other times) select four or five
ewes, who will give each birth to a lamb after a gestation of five months.

Subspecies
The vignei subspecies group consists of six individual
subspecies:
Afghan Urial or Turkmenian sheep (Ovis orientalis
cycloceros): southern Turkmenistan, eastern Iran,
Afghanistan, north Balochistan Pakistan[4]
Transcaspian Urial (Ovis orientalis arkal): UstjurtPlateau (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, northern Iran) and
western Kazakhstan

Transcaspian arkals (O. o. arkal) at


Pretoria Zoo

Blanford Urial or Balochistan Urial (Ovis orientalis


blanfordi): Balochistan (Pakistan) are often included in this subspecies.
Bukhara Urial (Ovis orientalis bochariensis): Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, mountains
around Amu Darya
Punjab Urial (Ovis orientalis punjabiensis): the provincial animal of the Punjab (Pakistan)
Ladakh Urial (Ovis orientalis vignei): Ladakh and northern Pakistan, Kashmir males have curly
horns but the females have flat horns

References
1. ^ Valdez, R. (2008). Ovis orientalis (http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/15739). In: IUCN 2008.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 April 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification
of why this species is of vulnerable.
2. ^ ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) opinion 2027
(http://www.iczn.org/BZNMar2003opinions.htm)
3. ^ Grubb, Peter (2005). Order Perissodactyla. Pp. 708-710 in: Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn, M. (2005).
Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3d edition. Johns Hopkins
University Press, Baltimore. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4
4. ^ http://www.un.org.pk/undp/sgp/green-pioneers/chap-13.htm

Nowak R. M.: Walker's Mammals of the World, Sixth Edition. The Johns Hopkins University
Press, Baltimore, London, 1999.
Lingen, H.: Groes Lexikon der Tiere. Lingen Verlag, Kln.
Prater, S. H.: The Book of Indian Animals, Oxford University Press, 1971.
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Urial - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Menon, V.: A Field Guide to Indian Mammals, Dorling Kindersley, India, 2003
CITES Instruktion fr den grenztierrztlichen Dienst
Proposal about subspecies of Urial (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?
q=cache:E5T4z2XUAiEJ:www.cites.org/eng/cop/11/prop/30.pdf)
Yahya M. Musakhel et al. 2006: Identification of Biodiversity Hot Spots in Musakhel District
balochistan Pakistan.

External links
Images of asiatic wild sheep subspecies (http://www.wildsheep.org/sheep/international.htm)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Urial&oldid=634520648"
Categories: IUCN Red List vulnerable species Ovis Fauna of Pakistan Mammals of Pakistan
Fauna of Jammu and Kashmir
This page was last modified on 19 November 2014 at 11:22.
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