Goral[1]
Chinese goral, Nemorhaedus griseus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Caprinae
Tribe: Ovibovini
Genus: Naemorhedus
Hamilton Smith, 1827
Type species
Antilope goral[1]
Hardwicke, 1825
Species

Naemorhedus goral
Naemorhedus caudatus
Naemorhedus baileyi
Naemorhedus griseus

The gorals are four species in the genus Naemorhedus. They are small ungulates with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the serow species (now in genus Capricornis).[1]

Etymology

The original name is based on Latin nemor-haedus, from nemus, nemoris 'grove' and haedus 'little goat', but it was misspelt Naemorhedus by Hamilton Smith (1827).[2][3]

The name "goral" comes from an eastern Indian word for the Himalayan goral.

Extant species

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Naemorhedus goral Himalayan goral (also known as ghural) northern Pakistan, northwest and northeast India, as well as Nepal, Bhutan, and southern Tibet
Naemorhedus caudatus long-tailed goral eastern Russia and northeast China through North Korea and South Korea. A population has also been documented in the Demilitarized Zone on the Korean Peninsula
Naemorhedus baileyi red goral Yunnan province of China, to Tibet and northeast India through northern Myanmar
Naemorhedus griseus Chinese goral China, northeast India, Myanmar, northwest Thailand, northern Vietnam, and possibly Laos.

Habitat

Gorals are often found on rocky hillsides at high elevations. Though their territories often coincide with those of the closely related serow, the goral will usually be found on higher, steeper slopes with less vegetation.

Characteristics

Gorals typically weigh 25–40 kilograms (55–88 lb) and are 80–130 centimetres (31–51 in) in length, with short, backward-facing horns. Coloration differs between species and individuals, but generally ranges from light gray to dark red-brown, with lighter patches on the chest, throat, and underside, and a dark stripe down the spine. They have woolly undercoats covered by longer, coarser hair, which helps to protect them in the cold areas where they are often found.

Though the groups share many similarities, gorals are stockier than antelopes and have broader, heavier hooves. Female gorals have four functional teats, while female goats and sheep have only two functional teats. Unlike serows, gorals have no working preorbital glands.

References

  1. ^ a b c Grubb, P. (2005). Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Groves, C. P., and Grubb, P., 1985, Reclassification of the serows and gorals (Nemorhaedus: Bovidae). In The Biology and Management of Mountain Ungulates. Edited by S. Lovari. London: Croom Helm. pp. 45-50.
  3. ^ Article 32.5.1. Archived 2016-03-14 at the Wayback Machine of International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature reads: "If there is in the original publication itself, without recourse to any external source of information, clear evidence of an inadvertent error, such as a lapsus calami or a copyist's or printer's error, it must be corrected."
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