Phenotypic variation and ecology of feral goat (Capra aegagrus hircus Couturier) populations in New Zealand

Abstract

Goats belong to the Bovidae family of hollow-horned ruminants, within the mammalian order of Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Their current taxonomic position is presented by Couturier (1962). Class : Mammalia L. 1758 Infra-class : Eutheria Gill 1872 Order : Artiodactyla Owen 1848 Sub-order : Ruminantia Scopoli 1777 Family : Bovidae Gray 1821 Sub-family : Caprinae Gill 1872 Tribe : Caprini Simpson 1945 Genus : Capra L. 1758 Within the tribe Caprini there are five genera, Capra (goats and ibexes), Pseudois (Bharal sheep), Ammotragus (Barbary sheep), Hemitragus (tahr), and Ovis (sheep). The specific taxonomy of the genus Capra is complex and often confused due to fertile hybrids obtainable from matings between "species", as outlined by Gray (1954). The popular classification was to divide the genus into six species: C. aegagrus Erxleben 1777 (Bezoar) C. ibex L. 1735 (Alpine Ibex) C. falconeri Wagner 1848 (Markhor) C. caucasica Pallas 1783 (Caucasian Tur) C. pyrenaica Schinz 1838 (Spanish Ibex) C. hircus L. 1758 (Domestic goat)