View source for Ovis

{{Short description|Genus of mammals}}
{{About|all Ovis species|an article specifically about the domestic species|sheep}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = ''Ovis''
| image = Ovis Diversity.jpg
| image_caption = There are seven species of ''Ovis''.
| taxon = Ovis
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| type_species = ''[[Sheep|Ovis aries]]''
| type_species_authority =
[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See [[#Species|text]].
}}
'''''Ovis''''' is a [[genus]] of [[mammal]]s, part of the [[Caprinae]] [[subfamily]] of the [[ruminant]] [[family (biology)|family]] [[Bovidae]].<ref name = MSW3>{{MSW3 Artiodactyla | id = 14200814 | pages = 707–710}}</ref> Its seven highly sociable [[species]] are known as '''sheep''' or '''ovines'''. [[Domestic sheep]] are members of the genus, and are thought to be descended from the wild [[mouflon]] of [[central Asia|central]] and [[southwest Asia]].
==Terminology==
{{Main|Glossary of sheep husbandry}}
Female sheep are called ''ewes'', males are called ''rams'' or less frequently ''bucks'' or ''tups'', neutered males are called ''wethers'', and young sheep are called ''lambs''. The adjective applying to sheep is ''ovine'', and the collective term for sheep is ''flock'' or ''mob''. The term ''[[herd]]'' is also occasionally used in this sense, generally for large flocks. Many [[Glossary of sheep husbandry|specialist terms]] relating to domestic sheep are used.
==Characteristics==
Sheep are fairly small compared to other [[ungulates]]; in most species, adults weigh less than {{Convert|100|kg|lb|-1|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Nowak 1983">Nowak, R. M. and J. L. Paradiso. 1983. ''Walker's Mammals of the World''. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. {{ISBN|0-8018-2525-3}}</ref> Males are usually heavier than females by a significant amount.
Wild sheep are mostly found in hilly or mountainous habitats. Their diets consist mainly of [[grass]]es, as well as other plants and [[lichen]]s. Like other [[ruminant]]s, they have four-chambered [[stomach]]s, which play a vital role in [[digestion|digesting]] food; they [[Regurgitation (digestion)|eructate]], and rechew the [[cud]] to enable them to digest and live on low-quality, rough plant materials. Sheep conserve water well, and can live in fairly dry environments.
The bodies of wild sheep (and some domestic breeds) are covered by a coat of thick [[hair]] to protect them from cold. This coat contains long, stiff hairs, called kemps, over a short, woolly undercoat, which grows in autumn and is shed in spring.<ref name=Clutton-Brock>Clutton-Brock, J. 1999. ''A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals''. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|0-521-63495-4}}</ref> This woolly undercoat has been developed in many domestic sheep breeds into a fleece of long [[wool]], with selection against kemp hairs in these breeds. The fleece covers the body (in a few breeds also the face and legs) and is used for [[fibre]]. Domestic sheep are also reared for their [[milk]] and [[meat]] (which is called [[Lamb and mutton|lamb or mutton]] depending on the age of the animal).
In wild sheep, both rams and ewes have [[Horn (anatomy)|horn]]s, while in domestic sheep (depending upon [[List of sheep breeds|breed]]) horns may be present in both rams and ewes, in rams only, or in neither. Rams' horns may be very large&nbsp;– those of a mature bighorn ram can weigh {{Convert|14|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}&nbsp;– as much as the bones of the rest of its body put together. Rams use their horns to fight with each other for dominance and the right to mate with females. In most cases, they do not injure each other because they hit each other head-to-head, and their curved horns do not strike each other's bodies. They are also protected by having very thick skin and double-layered skulls.<ref name=Voelker>Voelker, W. 1986. ''The Natural History of Living Mammals''. Medford, New Jersey: Plexus Publishing, Inc. {{ISBN|0-937548-08-1}}</ref>
Wild sheep have very keen [[senses]] of [[visual perception|sight]] and [[Hearing (sense)|hearing]]. When detecting predators, wild sheep most often flee, usually to higher ground, but they can also fight back. The Dall sheep has been known to butt [[wolf|wolves]] off the face of cliffs.<ref name=Voelker/>
Sheep have [[scent gland]]s on their faces and feet. Communication through the scent glands is not well understood, but is thought to be important for sexual signaling. Males can smell females that are in [[estrus]], and rams [[territorial marking|mark their territories]] by rubbing scent on rocks.
==Species==
Seven species (and numerous subspecies) of sheep are currently recognized. The main recognized divisions are:<ref name = MSW3/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common Name !!Distribution
|-
| [[File:Argali Stuffed specimen.jpg|120px]] || ''Ovis ammon'' || [[Argali]] or<br>mountain sheep||central Kazakhstan in the west to the Shanxi Province in China
|-
| [[File:Ovis orientalis aries 'Skudde' (aka).jpg|120px]] || ''Ovis aries''<ref>ICZN ([[International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]]) [[Opinion 2027]]</ref> || [[Sheep|Domestic sheep]] || Domesticated
|-
| [[File:Ovis canadensis 2.jpg|120px]] || ''Ovis canadensis'' || [[Bighorn sheep]]  ||North America
|-
| [[File:2005 04 27 1582 Dall Sheep.jpg|120px]] || ''Ovis dalli'' || [[Dall sheep]] or<br>thinhorn sheep||northwestern North America.
|-
|[[File:Armenian2.jpg|120px]]||''Ovis gmelini''||[[Mouflon]] || eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran
|-
| [[File:Ovis nivicola (=O. canadensis nivicola) by Joseph Smit.jpg|120px]]  || ''Ovis nivicola'' || [[Snow sheep]]  || northeast of Siberia
|-
|[[File:Mouflon at Highland Wildlife Park - geograph.org.uk - 1074751.jpg|120px]]||''Ovis vignei''||[[Urial]] || Central and South Asia.
|-
| || ''Ovis gracilis'' || || A fossil species from the [[Early Pleistocene]] of Taurida Cave, [[Crimea]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vislobokova |first=I. A. |date=25 September 2023 |title=Ovis gracilis sp. nov. (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave in the Crimea and History of the Genus Ovis |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1134/S0031030123050118 |journal=[[Paleontological Journal]] |language=en |volume=57 |issue=5 |pages=573–585 |doi=10.1134/S0031030123050118 |bibcode=2023PalJ...57..573V |issn=0031-0301 |access-date=13 January 2024}}</ref>
|}
==Behaviour==
Sheep are social animals and live in groups, called flocks. This helps them to avoid [[predator]]s and stay warm in cold weather by huddling together. Flocks of sheep need to keep moving to find new grazing areas and more favourable weather as the seasons change. In each flock, a sheep, usually a mature ram, is followed by the others.<ref name=Clutton-Brock/> This "leader to follower" relationship can be both a positive and negative for flocks of ''Ovis aries''. Although there is safety in numbers, it has been reported that the following of one mature ram can bring flocks to slaughter in many situations where the mature ram misguides the flock.<ref name="J.Ethol 7">{{cite journal |last1=Kawai |first1=Kaori |title=The flexible grouping and behavioral character of a flock of Suffolk ewes (Ovis aries) |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02350581 |journal=Journal of Ethology |year=1989 |volume=7 |pages=41–51 |publisher=Journal of Plant Pathology |doi=10.1007/BF02350581 |s2cid=36036030 |access-date=26 March 2021 |ref=41-51}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Schoenian |first1=Susan |title=Follow The Leader |url=http://www.sheep101.info/flocking.html |website=Sheep 101 |access-date=26 March 2021}}</ref>
===Mating ===
[[File:Faroesheeps.jpg|thumb|Sheep]]
Mating in sheep is [[Sexual selection in mammals|characterized by males competing for females]] in estrus.<ref name="Coltman et al">{{cite journal|last1=Coltman|first1=D|last2=Festa-Bianchet|first2=M|last3=Jorgenson|first3=J|last4=Strobeck|first4=C|title=Age-Dependent Sexual Selection in Bighorn Rams|journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences]]|date=2002|volume=269|issue=1487|pages=165–172|doi=10.1098/rspb.2001.1851|pmid=11798432|pmc=1690873}}</ref> [[Dominance hierarchy|Social rank]] in rams is established by male-male competition during the [[Rut (mammalian reproduction)|rutting]] period.<ref name="Gonzalez et al">{{cite journal|last1=Gonzalez|first1=Georges|last2=Bon|first2=Richard|last3=Estevez|first3=Imna|last4=Recarte|first4=Jose|title=Behaviour of Ewes (''Ovis Gmelini Musimon'' x ''Ovis'' Sp.) During the Rut|journal=Rev. Ecol|date=2001|volume=56|pages=221–230}}</ref> Females select from dominant males based on sexually selected characteristics such as body size and horn size, as those traits are desirable in offspring.
Females typically are separated from males outside the rut, but during the rut, females and males are found together.<ref name="Gonzalez et al" /> Females that are oestrous isolate themselves from other ewes, and may be less mobile.<ref name="Gonzalez et al" /> The rut is also linked with different ewe behaviour than during nonrutting periods.<ref name="Gonzalez et al" /> These changes are characterized by decreased feeding, increased time observing their surroundings, and increased behaviour changes.<ref name="Gonzalez et al" /> Ewes are also predicted to be slightly receptive to the displays of the rams.<ref name="Gonzalez et al" />
==See also==
*[[Aries (astrology)|Aries, the Ram]] (astrological sign)
*[[Barbary sheep]] (''Ammotragus lervia'') another type of [[Caprinae]]
*''[[Pseudois]]'', a genus with one species of [[Caprinae]], the [[bharal]], or blue sheep
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Bulanskey, S. 1992. ''The Covenant of the Wild''. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. {{ISBN|0-688-09610-7}}
*Parker, D. 2001. ''The Sheep Book''. Athens, Ohio, USA : Swallow Press / Ohio University Press {{ISBN|0-8040-1032-3}}
==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070420160718/http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp2/circular/1998/98-10LP/sheep3.htm Miller, S. 1998. "Sheep and Goats". United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service]
{{Artiodactyla|R.3}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q22724}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ovis| ]]
[[Category:Sheep]]
[[Category:Mammal genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]