Laristan Mouflon | Online Record Book Preview

Ovis gmelini laristanica

Muflon de Laristan (Sp), Laristan Mufflon (G), Mouflon du Laristan (F).

DESCRIPTION The Laristan mouflon has been said to be the smallest of the wild sheep, but Valdez states that this is not so, that adult rams can measure as much as 32 inches (81 cm) at the shoulder and weigh up to 140 pounds (64 kg). This is a thin-haired desert race with a short black ruff on the lower neck and breast. There is no bib. The summer coat is straw-brown, turning darker brown with a narrow white saddle patch in winter. (Nasonov, in his 1909 description, indicated a dark shoulder band in the winter coat; however, few males actually have such a marking.) The horns are homonymous and have a flat frontal surface with sharp edges. Females have very small horns up to ten inches (25 cm) in length and 4-1/2 inches (11 cm) in circumference.

DISTRIBUTION Southern Iran, in Fars and Laristan provinces. Boundaries with the Kerman sheep to the east are unclear.

TAXONOMIC NOTES Listed as a full species (Ovis laristanica) by Ellerman & Morrison-Scott "on account of its small size and relatively long snout and narrow skull," but this view now has little support. According to Valdez, the so-called Shiraz sheep, which can measure as much as 30 inches (76 cm) at the shoulder and weigh 120 pounds (54 kg), is a Laristan mouflon. (It should be noted, however, that this is disputed by some experienced Iranian hunters who believe the Shiraz sheep to be a separate form.)