Caprinae

The subfamily Caprinae is part of the ruminant family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine. A member is also sometimes referred to as a goat-antelope, however, this term 'goat-antelope' does not mean that these animals are true antelopes: a true antelope is a bovid with a cervid-like or antilocaprid-like morphology. Within this subfamily Caprinae, a prominent tribe, Caprini, includes sheep and goats. Some earlier taxonomies considered Caprinae a separate family called Capridae (whence a caprid), but now it is usually considered a subfamily within the family Bovidae, whence a caprine is a kind of bovid. Although most goat-antelopes are gregarious and have fairly stocky builds, they diverge in many other ways – the muskox (Ovibos moschatus) is adapted to the extreme cold of the tundra; the Rocky Mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus) of North America is specialised for very rugged terrain; the urial (Ovis orientalis) occupies a largely infertile area from Kashmir to Iran, including much desert country. The European mouflon (Ovis musimon) is thought to be the ancestor of the modern domestic sheep (Ovis aries). Many species have become extinct since the last ice age, probably largely because of human interaction. Of the survivors: Members of the group vary considerably in size, from just over 1 m (3 ft) long for a full-grown grey goral (Nemorhaedus goral), to almost 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) long for a musk ox, and from under 30 kg (66 lb) to more than 350 kg (770 lb). Musk oxen in captivity have reached over 650 kg (1,430 lb).