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Species
Capra hircus Linnaeus 1758
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Global Range: Native to southwestern Asia. Domesticated worldwide. Feral populations in British Isles, Mediterranean islands, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Venezuela, Australia, New Zealand, Bonin, Galapagos, Seychelles, Juan Fermnandez Islands, other oceanic islands, on all main islands in Hawaii (except Niihau and Lanai), California, the southwestern U.S., and Puerto Rico (Grubb, in Wilson and Reeder 1993).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Capra+hircus |
Domestic goats, Capra hircus, most likely descended from C. aegagrus which is from Central Asia. Since the domestication of this species, goats have been spread all over the world by humans. C. hircus requires grass for grazing, but can survive on very thin deposits of grass. Therefore, the only areas C. hircus cannot inhabit are tundras, deserts, and aquatic habitats. There are some feral groups on Hawaii and on other islands.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Introduced ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Introduced ); ethiopian (Introduced ); neotropical (Introduced ); australian (Introduced ); oceanic islands (Introduced )
Other Geographic Terms: cosmopolitan
- 1983. Capra hircus. Pp. 1298-1301 in R Nowak, J Paradiso, eds. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. United States of America: John Hopkins University Press.
- 2004. "Goat" (On-line). Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed July 29, 2004 at http://search.eb.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/eb/article?eu=37869.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Capra_hircus/ |
Maximum longevity: 20.8 years (captivity) Observations: One animal is reported to have lived 22 years in captivity (Ronald Nowak and John Paradiso 1983), which is plausible but unverified. Record longevity in captivity belongs to one female who lived 20.8 years (Richard Weigl 2005).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes |
Source | http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Capra_hircus |
Humans usually control the breeding behavior of C. hircus. Under human control C. hircus follows a polygynous reproductive system. In nature, feral groups follow this same pattern. In captivity, certain males may be chosen by humans to sire the young of several females. The females are then inseminated either directly by those males or by artificial insemination. Left to their own devices, male goats compete for rank, and the highest ranking males have access to mate with the females. Males fight by butting heads until one competitor surrenders. Sex glands are used to produce pheromones.
Mating System: polygynous
The breeding season for C. hircus is from late summer to early winter. The female estrus cycle is 18 days long. However, in the tropics certain breeds reproduce all year long. By manipulating the amount of light goats are exposed to during the day, the estrus cycle can be artificially induced. Twins are extremely common to this species, otherwise 1 or 3 offspring is the typical brood size. Gestation differs between breeds, but is between 145 and 152 days. The young are born precocious and able to walk and follow the mother just hours after birth. About 10 months after birth the young are weaned from their mother’s milk and graze independently. Females become reproductively mature around the age of 1 year, whereas males reach reproductive maturity around 5 months of age.
Breeding interval: C. hircus breeds every 18 months from late summer to early winter.
Breeding season: Copulation occurs from late summer to early winter.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 3.
Average number of offspring: 1.25.
Range gestation period: 4.83 to 5.07 months.
Average gestation period: 5 months.
Range weaning age: 4 to 5 months.
Average time to independence: 10 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 3 to 10 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 5 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; induced ovulation ; fertilization ; viviparous
Average birth mass: 2250 g.
Average number of offspring: 1.5.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
Sex: female: 406 days.
Mothers of C. hircus nurse their young for 10 months after birth. The main source of parental care is the mother. She provides milk for the young. Since this is a grazing species grass is readily availiable to the young and no solid food needs to be delivered by a parent. Once the young are grown, they will remain in the herd and compete for rank.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; altricial ; female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents
- Vaughan, T., J. Ryan, C. Nicholas. 2000. Mammology. United States: Thomson Learning Inc..
- 1983. Capra hircus. Pp. 1298-1301 in R Nowak, J Paradiso, eds. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. United States of America: John Hopkins University Press.
- 2004. "Did you know?" (On-line). American Dairy Goat Association. Accessed February 03, 2004 at http://adga.org/facts.htm.
- 2004. "Goat" (On-line). Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed July 29, 2004 at http://search.eb.com.proxy.lib.umich.edu/eb/article?eu=37869.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Capra_hircus/ |
occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Capra+hircus |
Breeds year round in Hawaii (Kramer 1971). Gestation lasts about 5 months. Female may breed at 12 months, may breed twice annually. Litter size 1-2.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Hammerson, G., NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Capra+hircus |
Canada
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Unknown
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Capra+hircus |
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There are 9 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
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Chile Central
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
Source | No source database. |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 22
Specimens with Barcodes: 34
Species With Barcodes: 1