The European Mouflon is a species of wild sheep and as such is one of the Caprinae or "goat antelopes". It is thought to be one of the two ancestors for all modern domestic sheep breeds. It is red-brown with a dark back-stripe, light colored saddle patch and underparts. The males are horned and the females are horned or polled.

They originated in Southwest Asia, where they are now extinct, and were introduced to the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus during the neolithic period, where they naturalized to the mountainous interiors of these islands over the past few thousand years. They are now rare on the islands, but have been successfully introduced into central Europe, including Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, even in some northern European countries, such as Finland.

The scientific classification of the Mouflon is disputed ^* but the European Mouflon may be considered as either Ovis musimon or Ovis ammon musimon.

Other names: Muflone (Italian), Corsican Mouflon, European Mouflon, Musimon, Musmon, Sardinian Mouflon.

References

• Tonda, J. 2002. "Ovis ammon" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 19, 2005 http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ovis_ammon.html
• PubMed: Molecular analysis of wild and domestic sheep questions current nomenclature and provides evidence for domestication from two different subspecies.

Sheep

Муфлон | Mufflon | Ovis musimon | Muflono | Mouflon | Ovis musimon | Muflonas | Moeflon | Muflon | Muflão | Muflon | Муфлон | Mufloni