Editing Caprinae (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Aoudad skeleton.jpg|thumb|Skeleton of a Barbary sheep ([[Barbary sheep|''Ammotragus lervia'']]) on display at the [[Museum of Osteology]]]]

Although most goat-antelopes are gregarious and have fairly stocky builds, they diverge in many other ways – the [[muskox]] (''Ovibos moschatus'') is adapted to the extreme cold of the [[tundra]]; the [[mountain goat]] (''Oreamnos americanus'') of [[North America]] is specialised for very rugged terrain; the [[urial]] (''Ovis orientalis'') occupies a largely infertile area from [[Kashmir]] to [[Iran]], including much desert country. The [[Armenian mouflon]] (''Ovis  gmelini gmelini'') is thought to be the ancestor of the modern [[domestic sheep]] (''Ovis aries'').

Many species have become extinct since the last [[ice age]], probably largely because of human interaction. Of the survivors:
* Five are classified as endangered,
* Eight as vulnerable,
* Seven as of concern and needing conservation measures, but at lower risk, and
* Seven species are secure.

Members of the group vary considerably in size, from just over {{convert|1|m|ft|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long for a full-grown [[Nemorhaedus|grey goral]] (''Nemorhaedus goral''), to almost {{convert|2.5|m|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long for a musk ox, and from under {{convert|30|kg|abbr=on}} to more than {{convert|350|kg|abbr=on}}. Musk oxen in captivity have reached over {{convert|650|kg|abbr=on}}.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}

The lifestyles of caprids fall into two broad classes: 'resource-defenders', which are territorial and defend a small, food-rich area against other members of the same species; and 'grazers', which gather together into herds and roam freely over a larger, usually relatively infertile area.

The resource-defenders are the more primitive group: they tend to be smaller, dark in colour, males and females fairly alike, have long, tessellated ears, long manes, and dagger-shaped horns. The grazers (sometimes collectively known as '''tsoan caprids''', from the Hebrew ''[[wikt:צאן|tso'n]]'' meaning sheep and goats) evolved more recently. They tend to be larger, highly social, and rather than mark territory with scent glands, they have highly evolved dominance behaviours. No sharp line divides the groups, but a continuum varies from the serows at one end of the spectrum to sheep, true goats, and musk oxen at the other.