Capra pyrenaica
Capra pyrenaica is a type of ibex that used to have four subspecies. Two subspecies are already extinct, and another two can still be found on the Iberian peninsula, among them the South-eastern Spanish Ibex or Beceite Ibex (Capra pyrenaica hispanica) which is shown in our picture.
The Spanish ibex lives in the Carzorla-Segura and Eastern Sierra Nevada mountain ranges in Spain. It prefers mountainous forested areas with rock outcroppings, coniferous trees, and certain species of oak.
Both sexes have horns, but the male has longer ones. The Spanish ibex eats mainly by browsing Holm oak, but it also eats acorns and grasses.
The picture of a Spanish ibex, above, was taken at the zoo of San Diego, California, in March 2004.
Genus Capra
Subfamily Caprinae
Family Bovidae
Order Artiodactyla
Subclass Eutheria
Class Mammalia
Subphylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
Kingdom Animalia
Life on Earth
Index