{{Short description|Subspecies of mammal}} {{subspeciesbox | name = Abruzzo chamois | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref =<ref name="iucn">{{Cite journal |author=Herrero, J. |author2=Lovari, S. |author3=Nores, C. |author4=Toigo, C. |name-list-style=amp |date=2024 |title=''Rupicapra pyrenaica'' |url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/19771/0 |journal=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species |publisher=IUCN |volume=2024 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T19771A223797365.en |access-date=19 October 2025 |doi-access=free}}</ref> | image = Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata 94813649.jpg | genus = Rupicapra | species = pyrenaica | subspecies = ornata | authority = Neumann, 1899 }}
'''Abruzzo chamois''' ('''''Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata''''') is a goat-antelope native to the central Apennine Mountains in central and southern Italy. It is one of three subspecies of Pyrenean chamois, the other two being ''R. p. pyrenaica'' and ''R. p. parva''.
== Classification == While traditionally categorized as a subspecies of Pyrenean chamois, some sources consider the Abruzzo chamois to be its own monotypic species under the scientific name ''Rupicapra ornata''.<ref name="x522">{{cite book |last=Castelló |first=José R. |title=Bovids of the World: Antelopes, Gazelles, Cattle, Goats, Sheep, and Relatives |publisher=Princeton University Press |date=12 April 2016 |isbn=978-1-4008-8065-2 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt1803z89.12 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/j.ctt1803z89 |access-date=6 January 2026 |page=412-413}}</ref> An analysis of mitochondrial DNA found in Alpine and Pyrennean chamois specimens found both species to be non-monophyletic, with the Abruzzo chamois belonging to a population genetically distinct from either species.<ref name="k195">{{cite journal |last1=Rodríguez |first1=Fernando |last2=Pérez |first2=Trinidad |last3=Hammer |first3=Sabine E |last4=Albornoz |first4=Jesús |last5=Domínguez |first5=Ana |title=Integrating phylogeographic patterns of microsatellite and mtDNA divergence to infer the evolutionary history of chamois (genus Rupicapra) |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=10 |issue=1 |date=2010 |issn=1471-2148 |pmid=20649956 |pmc=2923631 |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-10-222 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Description == Possessing a slim build, the Abruzzo chamois measures 100 to 130 centimeters long and 70 to 80 centimeters tall at the shoulders.<ref name="Parco">{{cite web |title=Chamois |url=https://www.parcoabruzzo.it/Efauna.schede.dettaglio.php?id=20 |access-date=20 October 2025 |website=Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo, Lazio e Molise}}</ref> Males typically weigh around 30 kilograms, while females weigh about 27 kilograms.<ref name="i208">{{cite web |title=Abruzzo Chamois |url=https://www.ecotur.org/en/abruzzo_chamois.xhtml |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=Trekking ed Escursioni nel Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo}}</ref> Both males and females have long, slender horns that hook at the end. The Abruzzo chamois can be distinguished from Iberian subspecies by its coat, sporting comparatively large patches of light fur on its throat, shoulders, and rump.<ref name="b153">{{cite web |last1=Mari |first1=Franco |last2=Lovari |first2=Sandro |date=10 January 2006 |title=The release of Apennine Chamois in Central Italy: 20 years later. |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281318395 |access-date=20 October 2025 |website=ResearchGate |pages=21–22 |volume=Reintroduction News |issue=25}}</ref> Their specialized hooves have concave soles, sharp, hard edges, and point slightly downward in the front. These adaptations allow them to climb rocks using small projections, prevent themselves from skidding on steep surfaces, move effectively on ice, and quickly brake while running downhill.<ref name="s488">{{cite book |last=Lovari |first=Sandro |title=The Biology and Management of Capricornis and Related Mountain Antelopes |date=1987 |publisher=Springer Netherlands |isbn=978-94-011-8032-0 |publication-place=Dordrecht |pages=51–61 |chapter=Evolutionary aspects of the biology of chamois, ''Rupicapra'' spp. (Bovidae, Caprinae) |doi=10.1007/978-94-011-8030-6_3 |access-date=8 November 2025 |chapter-url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-94-011-8030-6_3}}</ref>
== Behavior == Abruzzo chamois primarily group together in herds of females and male young, while adult males remain solitary or in small groups for most of the year.<ref name="i208" /> Within groups of females, dominance and social rank are determined based on age, horn length, and most prominently bodyweight.<ref name="l300">{{cite journal |last1=Locati |first1=Maurizio |last2=Lovari |first2=Sandro |date=1 January 1991 |title=Clues for dominance in female chamois: Age, weight, or horn size? |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/1098-2337%281991%2917%3A1%3C11%3A%3AAID-AB2480170103%3E3.0.CO%3B2-%23 |journal=Aggressive Behavior |publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=11–15 |doi=10.1002/1098-2337(1991)17:1<11::AID-AB2480170103>3.0.CO;2-# |issn=1098-2337 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref>
== Habitat == Preferring steep, mountainous environments, Abruzzo chamois generally live at elevations of 1,200 to 2,000 meters above sea level.<ref name="Parco"/>
== Distribution == During the late Pleistocene and early Holocene the subspecies occupied a range that stretched from Marche in the north to Calabria in the south.<ref name="u870">{{cite journal |last1=Masseti |first1=Marco |last2=Salari |first2=Leonardo |date=2017 |title=Late Pleistocene and Holocene chamois in Italy |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mam.12100 |journal=Mammal Review |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=306–313 |bibcode=2017MamRv..47..306M |doi=10.1111/mam.12100 |issn=0305-1838 |access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref> However, in the present it is confined to a handful of national parks in and around Abruzzo, including the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, Maiella National Park, Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Park, and Monti Sibillini National Park.<ref name="iucn" />
== Conservation == While both extant Iberian subspecies of ''Pyrenean chamois'' are listed as least concern, the Abruzzo chamois is listed as vulnerable on account of its lower population and restricted range. It is estimated that there are over 3,000 individuals split between 5 populations.<ref name="iucn" /> The subspecies was previously assessed as endangered in 1996, but successful reintroduction programs have resulted in a substantial population increase. Persistent obstacles to their conservation include fragmented habitats, low genetic diversity, competition with domestic caprids, and the effects of climate change upon grasslands inhabited by Abruzzo chamois.<ref name="iucn" />
Between 1991 and 2006, 22 female and 18 male Abruzzo chamois were released in Maiella National Park, which have developed into a self-sustaining population of over 1,400 individuals as of 2021.<ref name="k877">{{cite journal |last1=Antonucci |first1=Antonio |last2=Asprea |first2=Alessandro |last3=Chirichella |first3=Roberta |last4=Angelucci |first4=Simone |last5=Di Domenico |first5=Giovanna |last6=Apollonio |first6=Marco |date=2025 |title=The reintroduction of Apennine chamois in the Majella National Park: An evaluation of long-term results |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S161713812500127X |journal=Journal for Nature Conservation |volume=86 |bibcode=2025JNatC..8626950A |doi=10.1016/j.jnc.2025.126950 |access-date=14 November 2025 |article-number=126950}}</ref>
== References ==
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Category:IUCN Red List vulnerable species Category:Caprinae Category:Fauna of Italy Category:Mammals of Europe Category:Taxa named by Oscar Neumann Category:Mammals described in 1899