Pyrenean Ibex
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Extinct (2000)
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| Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica (Schinz, 1838) |
The Pyrenean Ibex (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) is an ibex, one of the two extinct subspecies of Spanish Ibex. The subspecies once ranged across the Pyrenees in France and Spain and the surrounding area, including the Basque Country, Navarre, and north Catalonia. A few hundred years ago they were numerous, but by 1900 their numbers had fallen to less than 100. From 1910 onwards, their numbers never rose above 40, and the species were found only in a small part of Ordesa National Park, in Huesca.
The last Pyrenean Ibex, a female named Celia, was found dead on January 6, 2000, apparently killed by a falling tree. Although her cause of death is known, the reason for the extinction of the subspecies as a whole is a mystery. Some hypotheses include the inability to compete with other species for food, infections and diseases, and poaching.
The diet of the Pyrenean Ibex consisted of grass, herbs and lichens. The ibex was paraxonic, with the plane of symmetry of each foot passing between the third and fourth digits. The third and fourth digits were quite large and bore most of the weight.
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[edit] Cloning project
The biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. announced on October 8, 2000 that the Spanish government has agreed to their offer to use nuclear transfer cloning technology in collaboration with other scientific partners to clone the Pyrenean ibex from the tissue that was taken in 1999. It was expected to be easier than the cloning experiment of endangered gaur (Bos gaurus), as the reproductive biology of goats is better known and the normal gestation period is only five months. ATC has agreed with the government of Aragon that the future cloned Pyrenean Ibexes will be returned to their original habitat.
The project could be of useful conservation value only if multiple goats could be cloned to form a viable gene pool. As it is, cloning one goat will not save the subspecies.
Celia was able to provide perfect tissue samples for cloning. However, attempts to clone Celia have highlighted a major problem: even if it were possible to produce another healthy Pyrenean Ibex, there are no males for the female clone to breed with. One solution could be to cross Celia's clones with males of another subspecies, although the offspring would not be pure Pyrenean Ibex. A more ambitious plan would be to remove one X chromosome and add a Y chromosome from another still-existing subspecies, creating a male Pyrenean Ibex, but such technology does not yet exist and it is not known whether this will be feasible at all without irreparably damaging the cell.
Three teams of scientists, two Spanish and one French, are involved in the cloning project. The project is coordinated by the Food and Agricultural Investigation Service of the Government of Aragon (Spanish: Servicio de Investigación Agroalimentaria del Gobierno de Aragón) and by the National Institute of Investigation and Food and Agrarian Technology (Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria). The National Institute of Agrarian Investigation of France is also involved in the project.
[edit] First attempt fails
Researchers took adult Somatic cell from the tissue and fused them with oocytes from goats that had their nucleus removed. The resultant embryos were transferred into a domestic goat (Capra hircus), to act as a surrogate mother. In 2003, it was announced that the first attempt to clone the Pyrenean Ibex failed. Of the 285 embryos reconstructed, 54 were transferred to 12 mountain goats and mountain goat-domesticated goat hybrids, but only two survived the initial two months of gestation before they too died.
[edit] References
- Caprinae Specialist Group (2000). Capra pyrenaica ssp. pyrenaica. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 8 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this subspecies is listed as extinct
[edit] External links
- Profile at the IUCN Red List
- Profile at the Extinction Website
