?Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Conservation status: Endangered
Stuffed male in the Mono Lake visitors center.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Caprinae Genus: Ovis Species: O. canadensis Subspecies: O. c. sierrae
Trinomial name
Ovis canadensis sierrae (Grinnell, 1912)

Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) is a subspecies of Bighorn Sheep. The assignment of Bighorn Sheep populations to this subspecies is currently controversial. Early taxonomic schemes included herds from British Columbia to southern California in a broader subspecies Ovis canadensis californiana. More recent genetic testing has indicated that O. c. californiana consists of only a small population located in the southern and central Sierra Nevada, hence should be renamed Ovis canadensis sierrae. Download high resolution version (750x772, 97 KB)Image taken in June 2003 by Daniel Mayer. ... Mono Lake, showing nearby Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park Mono Lake is an alkaline and hypersaline lake in California, United States that is a critical nesting habitat for several bird species and is one of the most productive ecosystems in North America. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata... Families Antilocapridae Bovidae Camelidae Cervidae Giraffidae Hippopotamidae Moschidae Suidae Tayassuidae Tragulidae 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. ... Species See text. ... Trinomial nomenclature is a taxonomic naming system that extends the standard system of binomial nomenclature by adding a third taxon. ... Binomial name Ovis canadensis Shaw, 1804 Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep in North America with two endangered subspecies: Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) California Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana). ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Official languages none stated in law; English is de facto Flower Pacific dogwood Tree Western Redcedar Bird Stellers Jay Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Parliamentary representation  - House seat  - Senate seats 36 6... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in eastern California. ...

The Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep listed as an endangered species on January 3, 2000, following emergency listing on April 20, 1999. In 1995, these genetically distinct Bighorn Sheep hit a population low of about 100 total individuals, distributed across 5 separate areas of the southern and central Sierra Nevada, and had increased to about 125 in 1999. Since then conditions have been particularly favorable for population growth, with the total number of individuals reaching about 250 as of 2002 [1]. These desert bighorn sheep use habitats ranging from the highest elevations along the crest of the Sierra Nevada (4,000+ meters [13,120+ feet]) to winter ranges at the eastern base of the range as low as 1,450 meters (4,760 feet). Significant population declines beginning in the late 1980s were associated with these desert bighorn sheep avoiding low elevation winter ranges. The endangered Sea Otter An endangered species is a population of organisms (usually a taxonomic species), which because it is either (a) few in number or (b) threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters, it is at risk of becoming extinct. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Binomial name Ovis canadensis Shaw, 1804 Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep in North America with two endangered subspecies: Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) California Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis californiana). ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

The Nevada Department of Wildlife estimates that there are 1500 California Bighorn Sheep located in northwestern Nevada as of 2004. However this population appears to be genetically distinct from the Sierra Nevada population, and may be more properly classified as Desert Bighorn Sheep (O. c. nelsoni). This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Trinomial name Ovis canadensis nelsoni The Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) is a subspecies of Bighorn Sheep that occurs in the desert Southwest regions of the United States. ...

References

• US Fish and Wildlife Service endangered species recovery plan for the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep (adapted public domain text)
• Correct Nomenclature for Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, J.D. Wehausen, V.C. Bleich, R.R. Ramey II, California Fish and Game 91(3):216-218, (2005).