Dwarf blue sheep
| Dwarf blue sheep | ||||||||||||
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Dwarf blue sheep ( Pseudois schaeferi ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pseudois schaeferi | ||||||||||||
| Haltorth , 1963 |
The dwarf blue sheep ( Pseudois schaeferi ) is a goat-like artifacts that is closely related to the blue sheep . Only a few hundred specimens of this species live in a small area on the Yangtze in China .
features
Dwarf blue sheep are more reminiscent of goats than sheep. They have a gray-brown fur, often with a silver shimmer, overall they are more dull in color than the blue sheep. The limbs are dark in color. These animals reach a head trunk length of around 106 centimeters, a shoulder height of 65 to 80 centimeters and a weight of 25 to 45 kilograms, whereby the males are heavier than the females.
Both sexes have horns. Those of the males are comparatively thin and erect and, in contrast to those of the blue sheep, are not arched inwards. The horns of the females are shorter and upright.
distribution and habitat
Dwarf blue sheep inhabit an area of only 300 km² on the upper Yangtze . This is located in the extreme west of the Sichuan Province ( Garzê Autonomous District ) near the city of Zhubalong and in the east of the Tibet Autonomous Region ( Qamdo City ). Their habitat is rocky mountains between 2600 and 3200 meters above sea level with partly very steep slopes.
Way of life
Little is known about the way of life of the dwarf blue sheep. They live in pairs or small groups of usually fewer than eight animals. There are both pure male and pure female groups (with young animals) as well as mixed herds. These animals are herbivores that feed primarily on grass and moss. The mating season is in November and December, most births take place after a gestation period of around six months between late May and late June.
threat
The total population of the dwarf blue sheep is estimated at just over 200 specimens. In their small area of distribution, they face competition from grazing domestic animals and hunting. In 1995, a 142 km² reserve was set up near the city of Zhubalong, but there, too, they are threatened by domestic animals and poaching. The IUCN lists them as endangered .
Systematics
The dwarf blue sheep forms together with the blue sheep the genus of the blue sheep ( Pseudois ) within the tribe of the goat-like (Caprini) in the family of the horned (Bovidae). Dwarf blue sheep were first known to the western world through the Tibet expedition of 1934–1936 by Ernst Schäfer and Brooke Dolan . At first they were often thought of as common blue sheep, but it was not until 1963 that Theodor Haltorth described them as an independent subspecies of the blue sheep ( pseudois nayaur schaeferi - the epithet schaeferi honors the discoverer Ernst Schäfer). It was not recognized as an independent species until 1978, which is still sometimes doubted today. According to Wang and Hoffmann (1987), it is an isolated group of blue sheep that is currently going through the process of speciation . The differences to the blue sheep lie in the smaller body size, the dull coat and the shape of the horns.
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 (English).
- Wang X. and RS Hoffmann: Pseudois nayaur and Pseudois schaeferi. In: Mammalian Species 278, 1987, pp. 1-6. PDF
Web links
- Distribution map and further information
- Pseudois nayaur ssp. schaeferi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: RB Harris, 2008. Accessed on 24 February, 2008.