Nemorhaedus
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 Chinese Goral, Nemorhaedus caudatus
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Nemorhaedus goral |
The genus Nemorhaedus includes six small species of ungulate with a goat-like or antelope-like appearance. Three species of gorals and three species of serows make up the genus, though the latter are sometimes placed in the genus Capricornis.
The name Nemorhaedus is occasionally spelled Naemorhedus following Charles Hamilton Smith who named the genus, but Groves and Grubb argued that the former was the correct Latinization.[1]
[edit] Gorals
The name "goral" comes from an eastern Indian word for the Gray Goral. There are three species of gorals:
- The Gray Goral, Nemorhaedus goral, is native to northeastern India, Nepal, Bhutan, and northern Pakistan.
- The Chinese Goral, Nemorhaedus caudatus, can be found in eastern Russia and China through western Thailand and eastern Myanmar.
- The Red Goral, Nemorhaedus baileyi, inhabits areas from the Yunnan province of China, Tibet, and northeastern India through northern Myanmar.
Gorals are often found on rocky hillsides at high elevations. Though their territory often coincides with that of the closely-related serow, the goral will usually be found on higher, steeper slopes with less vegetation.
Gorals typically weigh 25-40 kg and are 80-130 cm 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.
[edit] Serows
All three species of serow live in central or eastern Asia.
- The Japanese Serow, Nemorhaedus crispus, is found on the islands of Honshū, Kyūshū, and Shikoku.
- The Taiwan Serow, Nemorhaedus swinhoei, is native to Taiwan.
- The Mainland Serow, Nemorhaedus sumatraensis, the largest of the three species, inhabits areas from Nepal to the Gansu province of China to Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.
Like their smaller relatives the gorals, serows are often found grazing on rocky hills, though typically at a lower elevation when the two types of animal share territory. Serows are the slower and less agile members of the genus Nemorhaedus, but they are nevertheless able to climb slopes to escape predation or to take shelter during cold winters or hot summers. Serows, unlike gorals, make use of their pre-orbital glands in scent marking.
Coloration varies by species, region, and individual. Both sexes have beards and small horns which are often shorter than their ears.
Fossils of serow-like animals date as far back as the late Pliocene, two to seven million years ago. The other members of the Caprinae family may have evolved from these creatures.
[edit] References
- ^ C. P. Groves & P. Grubb (1985). "Reclassification of the serows and gorals (Nemorhaedus: Bovidae)", in S. Lovari: The Biology and Management of Mountain Ungulates. London: Croom Helm, 45–50.
