urial

plural urials · alternative oorial

1. A bearded reddish sheep, subspecies of Ovis orientalis (including Ovis orientalis vignei), previously classified as Ovis vignei, being endemic to southern Asia and believed to be a wild ancestor of domestic sheep.

   O. severtzovi has been shuffled back and forth between the urial and the argali groups.

   2011, Colin Groves, Peter Grubb, Ungulate Taxonomy, page 237

   2 more examples

   All domesticated sheep are descended from the moufflon, urial or argali. They are closely related to each other and connected by intermediate breeds. Most wool sheep are believed to have been derived from urial stock, while hair sheep are traced back to the moufflon.

   1990, “Animals, Domestication of”, in A. Ghosh, editor, An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology, page 3

   Most urials live in open habitats, with few or no trees, but there are indications that this may be a recent adaptation to changing environmental conditions and that the urial was originally more of a woodland animal than at present.

   2011, John P. Rafferty, Grazers, Britannica Educational Publishing, page 136

   Synonyms: arkars, shapoo