# Ovis
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{{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''.
| image2 = Lamb bleating and its mother's response.flac
| image2_caption = Lamb bleating and its mother's response
| taxon = Ovis
| authority = [Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae)
| type_species = ''[Ovis aries](/source/Sheep)''
| type_species_authority =
[Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae)
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See text.
}}
'''''Ovis''''' is a [genus](/source/genus) of [mammal](/source/mammal)s, part of the [Caprinae](/source/Caprinae) [subfamily](/source/subfamily) of the [ruminant](/source/ruminant) [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Bovidae](/source/Bovidae).[{{MSW3 Artiodactyla | id = 14200814 | pages = 707–710}}] Its seven [species](/source/species) are highly sociable, and are known as '''sheep''' or '''ovines'''. [Domestic sheep](/source/Domestic_sheep) are members of the genus, and are thought to be descended from the wild [mouflon](/source/mouflon) of [central](/source/central_Asia) and [southwest Asia](/source/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](/source/herd)'' is also occasionally used in this sense, generally for large flocks. Many [specialist terms](/source/Glossary_of_sheep_husbandry) relating to domestic sheep are used.
==Characteristics==
Sheep are fairly small compared to other [ungulates](/source/ungulates); in most species, adults weigh less than {{Convert|100|kg|lb|-1|abbr=on}}.[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}}] Males are usually significantly heavier than females. Wild sheep are mostly found in hilly or mountainous habitats. Their diets consist mainly of [grass](/source/grass)es, as well as other plants and [lichen](/source/lichen)s. Like other [ruminant](/source/ruminant)s, they have four-chambered [stomach](/source/stomach)s, which play a vital role in [digesting](/source/digestion) food; they [eructate](/source/Regurgitation_(digestion)), and rechew the [cud](/source/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](/source/hair) to protect them from cold. This coat contains long, stiff hairs, called [kemps](/source/Kemp_(wool)), over a short, woolly undercoat, which grows in autumn and is shed in spring.[Clutton-Brock, J. 1999. ''A Natural History of Domesticated Mammals''. Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press {{ISBN|0-521-63495-4}}] This woolly undercoat has been developed in many domestic sheep breeds into a fleece of long [wool](/source/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](/source/fibre). Domestic sheep are also reared for their [milk](/source/milk) and [meat](/source/meat) (which is called [lamb or mutton](/source/Lamb_and_mutton) depending on the age of the animal).
In wild sheep, both rams and ewes have [horn](/source/Horn_(anatomy))s, while in domestic sheep (depending upon [breed](/source/List_of_sheep_breeds)) horns may be present in both rams and ewes, in rams only, or in neither. Rams' horns may be very large – those of a mature bighorn ram can weigh {{Convert|14|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}} – 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.[Voelker, W. 1986. ''The Natural History of Living Mammals''. Medford, New Jersey: Plexus Publishing, Inc. {{ISBN|0-937548-08-1}}]
Wild sheep have very keen [senses](/source/senses) of [sight](/source/visual_perception) and [hearing](/source/Hearing_(sense)). 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 [wolves](/source/wolf) off the face of cliffs.[
Sheep have [scent gland](/source/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](/source/estrus), and rams [mark their territories](/source/territorial_marking) by rubbing scent on rocks.
==Species==
Seven extant species (and numerous subspecies) of sheep are currently recognized. The main recognized divisions are:][
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Scientific name !! Common name !!Distribution
|-
| 120px || ''Ovis ammon'' || [Argali](/source/Argali) or]
mountain sheep|| Central Kazakhstan in the west to the Shanxi Province in China
|-
| 120px || ''Ovis aries''[ICZN ([International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature](/source/International_Commission_on_Zoological_Nomenclature)) [Opinion 2027](/source/Opinion_2027)] || [Domestic sheep](/source/Sheep) || Domesticated
|-
| 120px || ''Ovis canadensis'' || [Bighorn sheep](/source/Bighorn_sheep) ||North America
|-
| 120px || ''Ovis dalli'' || [Dall sheep](/source/Dall_sheep) or
thinhorn sheep||Northwestern North America.
|-
|120px||''Ovis gmelini''||[Mouflon](/source/Mouflon) || Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran
|-
| 120px || ''Ovis nivicola'' || [Snow sheep](/source/Snow_sheep) || Northeast of Siberia
|-
|120px||''Ovis vignei''||[Urial](/source/Urial) || Central and South Asia.
|-
|}
===Extinct species===
At least two extinct species in the genus have been recognized from fossil identification:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Scientific name !! Notes
|-
| ''[Ovis claudiusguerini](/source/Ovis_claudiusguerini)'' || A fossil species from the [Early Pleistocene](/source/Early_Pleistocene) of [France](/source/France).[{{cite book |last=Crégut-Bonnoure |first=E. |editor1-last=Delson |editor1-first=E. |editor2-last=Faure |editor2-first=M. |editor3-last=Guérin |editor3-first=C. |title=Senèze: Life in Central France Around Two Million Years Ago |date=2025 |isbn=978-3-031-64414-6 |pages=433–585 |chapter=The Bovidae (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from Senèze |series=Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-64415-3_14 }}]
|-
| ''[Ovis gracilis](/source/Ovis_gracilis)'' || A fossil species from the [Early Pleistocene](/source/Early_Pleistocene) of Taurida Cave, [Crimea](/source/Crimea).[{{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](/source/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|url-access=subscription }}]
|}
==Behaviour==
Sheep are social animals and live in groups, called flocks. This helps them to avoid [predator](/source/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.[ 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.][{{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|url-access=subscription }}][{{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}}]
===Mating ===
thumb|Sheep
Mating in sheep is [characterized by males competing for females](/source/Sexual_selection_in_mammals) in estrus.[{{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](/source/Proceedings_of_the_Royal_Society_B%3A_Biological_Sciences)|date=2002|volume=269|issue=1487|pages=165–172|doi=10.1098/rspb.2001.1851|pmid=11798432|pmc=1690873}}] [Social rank](/source/Dominance_hierarchy) in rams is established by male-male competition during the [rutting](/source/Rut_(mammalian_reproduction)) period.[{{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}}] 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.