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The Balearic Islands Cave Goat Myotragus balearicus (Greek-derived Neo-Latin: μυς + τράγος + Βαλεαρίδες — "Balearian mouse-goat") is the scientific name of a species of the subfamily Caprinae which lived in the islands of Majorca and Minorca until its extinction around 5000 years ago. This animal was previously described as an 'odd goat,' but since the genetic analyses done at the University of Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, it seems that the Myotragus was more closely related to sheep than to goats. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ...
Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ...
The Dodo, shown here in illustration, is an often-cited[1] example of modern extinction. ...
Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ...
“Animalia†redirects here. ...
Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ...
Subclasses Subclass Allotheria* Order Docodonta (extinct) Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Subclass Prototheria Order Monotremata Subclass Theria Infraclass Trituberculata (extinct) Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of...
Orders Superorder Xenarthra: Pilosa Cingulata Infraclass Epitheria: Superorder Afrotheria: Afrosoricida (Golden mole and tenrec) Macroscelidea (Elephant shrew) Tubulidentata (Aardvark) Hyracoidea (Hyrax) Proboscidea (Elephant) Sirenia (Manatee, Dugong) Superorder Laurasiatheria: Chiroptera (Bats) Insectivora (Shrews, Moles) Cetacea (Whale, dolphin) Artiodactyla (Ruminants et al) Perissodactyla(Horse et al. ...
Families Suidae Hippopotamidae Tayassuidae Camelidae Tragulidae Moschidae Cervidae Giraffidae Antilocapridae Bovidae The even-toed ungulates form the mammal order Artiodactyla. ...
Subfamilies Bovinae Cephalophinae Hippotraginae Antilopinae Caprinae A bovid is any of almost 140 species of cloven-hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae. ...
Genera Capricornis Nemorhaedus Rupicapra Oreamnos Budorcas Ovibos Hemitragus Ammotragus Pseudois Capra Ovis Pantholops A goat antelope is any of the species of mostly medium-sized herbivores that make up the subfamily Caprinae or the single species in subfamily Panthalopinae. ...
In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ...
1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
Capital Palma de Mallorca Official language(s) Spanish and Catalan Area – Total – % of Spain Ranked 17th 4,992 km² 1. ...
Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. ...
Species See Species and subspecies The goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ...
New Latin (or Neo-Latin) is a post-medieval version of Latin, now used primarily in International Scientific Vocabulary cladistics and systematics. ...
Capital Palma de Mallorca Official language(s) Spanish and Catalan Area – Total – % of Spain Ranked 17th 4,992 km² 1. ...
Genera Capricornis Nemorhaedus Rupicapra Oreamnos Budorcas Ovibos Hemitragus Ammotragus Pseudois Capra Ovis Pantholops A goat antelope is any of the species of mostly medium-sized herbivores that make up the subfamily Caprinae or the single species in subfamily Panthalopinae. ...
Location Location of Majorca in Balearic Islands Coordinates : 39° 30’N , 3°0E Time Zone : CET (UTC+1) - summer: CEST (UTC+2) General information Native name Mallorca (Catalan) Spanish name Mallorca Postal code 07001-07691 Area code 34 (Spain) + 971 (Illes Balears) Website http://www. ...
Flag of Minorca This is a taula from the site of Talatì de Dalt about 4km west of Maó Minorca (Menorca both in Catalan and Spanish and increasingly in British usage; from Latin Balearis Minor, later Minorica minor island) is one of the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears Catalan official name...
The Dodo, shown here in illustration, is an often-cited[1] example of modern extinction. ...
Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (Catalan) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ...
Species See text. ...
Species See Species and subspecies The goat is a mammal in the genus Capra, which consists of nine species: the Ibex, the West Caucasian Tur, the East Caucasian Tur, the Markhor, and the Wild Goat. ...
Description
What first strikes the attention about this animal is its head. Its eyes were not directed towards the sides, as are those of nearly all the herbivorous mammals, but towards the front, granting them stereoscopic vision. The lower jaw rarely contained two perennial-growth incisors in the lower jaw, like rodents and lagomorphs, but not other ungulates. The upper jaw lacked incisors. The rest of its teeth were molars and premolars adapted to the crushing of vegetal matter. The nose was short in comparison with the rest of the skull, similar to the noses of rabbits and hares. Finally, both sexes had at the top of the head two very short horns. It is possible these horns were longer, having short bone-bases and long horn-covers, but no complete horns have been found. In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). ...
Subclasses Subclass Allotheria* Order Docodonta (extinct) Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Subclass Prototheria Order Monotremata Subclass Theria Infraclass Trituberculata (extinct) Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of...
Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents. ...
Families Leporidae Ochotonidae The Lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha, are an order of mammals of which there are two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). ...
 Artistic impression of a Myotragus balearicus The Myotragus balearicus was quite small in size (standing about 50 centimetres high at the shoulder) and weighed between 50 and 70 kilograms. The legs were proportionately shorter than those of other related and less flexible bovids, which did not make Myotragus balearicus exceptionally fast. This was not a serious problem because on the islands there were no predators except for some birds of prey, from which they probably hid in the vegetation. On the shoulders they had a pronounced hump, while the back was bent in the hindquarters. The legs, like many from the artiodactyla order, had four fingers of which only two were used to walk. The tail was rather long in comparison to the rest of the body. A goat was spotted in the caves far out in the sea (in a cave) but it may have been a different type of cave goat ,this sighting happened in august 2006. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Families Suidae Hippopotamidae Tayassuidae Camelidae Tragulidae Moschidae Cervidae Giraffidae Antilocapridae Bovidae The even-toed ungulates form the mammal order Artiodactyla. ...
Feeding The fossil remains of Myotragus balearicus seem to indicate that this animal was a browser, like the present goats. It fed on all kinds of shrub vegetation and low branches of the trees of the Mediterranean climate, although it had a special predilection to endemic Balearic shrubs. The fossil record of Majorca and Minorca, as well as the absence of grazing animals, seem to indicate that the primitive Balearic Islands were covered by forests before human colonisation and that herbaceous grassland of appreciable size did not exist. In this habitat, the Myotragus would move around solitarily (preferably) or in small groups.
Reproduction Not much is known about the reproductive habits of this species. In 1999 the skeleton of a newly born individual was found near Manacor in the northeast of Majorca. It was found that the baby Myotragus was quite large in proportion to the size of the mother, and probably it could walk and follow its progenitor around soon after being born. It seems that it did not take a long time maturing, perhaps only a year or two. Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ...
Location Coordinates : 39° 34’N , 3°12’E Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Manacor (Catalan) Spanish name Manacor Postal code 07500 Website http://www. ...
The fact that the species conserved the horns is a possible indication that the males used them to fight for their right to reproduce, but the lack of sexual dimorphism invites one to think this species was not polygamous or, at least, the males did not build "harems." Given the ostensibly short length of its horns, a Myotragus in combat had to punch more towards the flanks (as do many small antelope) than to fight head to head (more typical of larger ungulates). Female (left) and male Common Pheasant, illustrating the dramatic difference in both color and size between the sexes Sexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. ...
Polygamy, literally many marriages in ancient Greek, is a marital practice in which a person has more than one spouse simultaneously (as opposed to monogamy where each person has a maximum of one spouse at any one time). ...
The Mediterranean climate is seasonal; thus, it is thought that Myotragus had an annual mating season, but it is not known in what part of the year this occurred. It is thought that the seasonal differences, especially in rainfall, were somewhat less pronounced during the animal's existence than they are today, and that the period of gestation cannot be deduced with certainty. Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. ...
Origins The unique characters of Myotragus balearicus are a consequence of a prolonged process of evolution on the islands (a clear example of island dwarfing). In this type of isolation, the ungulates tend to become smaller while rodents and lagomorphs, increase their size, as happened to the Hypnomys, the giant dormouse that shared a habitat with Myotragus. Such species also tend to lose their fear reaction towards predators if none occur on the islands. A clear example of this is the loss of the capacity to run at high speed, the development of stereoscopic vision (which is useful to calculate distances, but not so to watch for predators) and the proportional reduction of the brain, something which has also been observed in the Homo floresiensis, a newly discovered dwarf-like human species on the island of Flores, Indonesia. Island dwarfing is a biological phenomenon by which the size of animals isolated on an island shrinks dramatically over generations. ...
Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents. ...
Families Leporidae Ochotonidae The Lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha, are an order of mammals of which there are two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). ...
Subfamilies and Genera Graphiurinae Graphiurus Leithiinae Dryomys Eliomys Hypnomys Myomimus Selevinia Myoxinae Glirulus Muscardinus Glis Dormice are Old World mammals in the family Gliridae, part of the rodent (Rodentia) order. ...
Binomial name †Homo floresiensis P. Brown , 2004 Homo floresiensis (Man of Flores) is the name for a possible species in the genus Homo, remarkable for its small body, small brain, and survival until relatively recent times. ...
Map of Flores Island Flores (Portuguese for flowers) is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. ...
The analyses of DNA and the oldest fossils (Pliocene 5.7 million years ago) of the island of Majorca (Myotragus pepgonellae) indicate that Myotragus balearicus, in spite of being a browsing animal, descended originally from grazers. The closest related species to Myotragus are ovine, such as the extinct Nesogoral of the Plio-Pleistocene of Sardinia, the old Gallogoral of France (possible mainland ancestor of both the Myotragus and Nesogoral), Ovis (present sheep and mouflon) and the mountain goats of Central Asia. The last ancestor common to the Myotragus and Nesogoral arrived at Majorca and Sardinia around 6 million years ago, a time at which the Straits of Gibraltar were closed and the Mediterranean Sea was a small collection of salty lakes. Later on, the opening of the Straits and the massive salt water inflow isolated the animal populations, which diversified in the new Mediterranean islands created by tectonic forces. At the same time, climatic change replaced the vegetation of subtropical type with the present one of Mediterranean type, forcing the Myotragus to develop drastic changes in its feeding and set of teeth. The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the development and function of living organisms. ...
The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ...
The Pleistocene epoch (IPA: ) is part of the geologic timescale. ...
Sardinia (pronounced ; Italian: ; Sardinian: or Sardinnya) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily). ...
Binomial name Ovis musimon, Ovis ammon musimon, Ovis orientalis Pallas, 1762 European Mouflon The Mouflon is a species of wild sheep and as such is one of the Caprinae or goat antelopes. It is thought to be one of the two ancestors for all modern domestic sheep breeds[1]. It...
Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ...
Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ...
Strangely, Myotragus initially only colonized the island of Majorca. On Ibiza a strange ecosystem without terrestrial mammals developed in which birds and bats were the main vertebrates, while in Minorca a giant rabbit evolved that covered the same niche as the Myotragus in Majorca. With the level of the sea falling in the Glacial Era, Majorca and Minorca were united and Myotragus replaced the great Minorcan lagomorphs. Both islands separated again at the beginning of the Holocene. Ibiza (Catalan: Eivissa) is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea (), belonging to Balearic Islands (Spain). ...
This article lacks an appropriate taxobox. ...
The Holocene epoch is a geological period that extends from the present day back to about 10,000 radiocarbon years, approximately 11,430 ± 130 calendar years BP (between 9560 and 9300 BC). ...
Extinction Diverse datings indicate that the three native terrestrial mammals of Majorca (Myotragus, Hypnomys and the giant shrew Nesiosites) disappeared all in the same very short period of time, during the third millennium BC.
During years of continued discussion between scientists, some said the extinction was caused by climate change, while others maintained they were exterminated by the first human settlers of the Balearic Islands. Various evidence could support both opinions; as a result, this question is still not answered unequivocally.
The dominant theory is the one that postulates an extinction by human causes. Traditional methods had dated the first human colonization of the Balearic Islands towards 5000 BC or even before, but subsequent tests with modern methods of dating clearly indicate that there was no human presence before 3000 BC. This date agrees very closely with the fast decline of the three forms.
The first Balearic settlers had a Neolithic culture, although they continued living in caves, which are plentiful on the islands. In these have been found numerous animal bones, especially those of Myotragus, with evidence of carving and denting by humans. Most surprising is that not all Myotragus arrived dead at the caves, but seem to have been kept alive for some time there. Many had their horns trimmed, which healed later. This may mean that their captors were attempting to domesticate them. Domestication ultimately did not succeed, probably because Myotragus would not reproduce in captivity or not at a suitable speed, as only remains of adult individuals have been found. An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ...
Human hunting, the failure of domestication, the introduction of domestic animals like goats (that competed with Myotragus for the same food), cows, pigs and sheep (and consequently, the destruction of the forests to create places for them to pasture) and dogs (which could have preyed on the Myotragus) were the probable causes for the extinction of this animal. Dogs and sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated. ...
See also The list of extinct animals in Europe features the animals that have become extinct on the European continent and some in other dependent territories of European countries. ...
References - (Spanish) Universitat de les Illes Balears Myotragus: de "oveja" a "cabra" a causa del clima y la insularidad (in PDF format)
External links Wikispecies has information related to: Myotragus balearicus - Reduction of brain and sense organs in the fossil insular bovid Myotragus
- Molecular phylogeny and evolution of the extinct bovid Myotragus balearicus
- Prehistoric Minorca
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