Mouflon vignei" (or "orientalis") "arkal" and "O. v./o. bochariensis", grouped with two different clades of argali ("Ovis ammon"). The ancestral sheep is presumed to have had 60 chromosomes, as in goats ("Capra"). Mouflon and domestic sheep have 54 chromosomes, with three pairs (1+3, 2+8, 5+11) of ancestral acrocentric chromosomes joined to form bi-armed chromosomes. This is in contrast to the argali and urial, which have 56 and 58 chromosomes respectively. If the urial is as closely related to the mouflons as mitochondrial DNA indicates, then two chromosomes would need to have split during its evolution away from the mouflon (sub)species. In
Mouflon Opinion 2027 conserves the name of the wild species "Ovis orientalis" S. G. Gmelin 1774 in the case where the wild and domestic varieties are considered conspecific. Mouflon rams have a strict dominance hierarchy. Before mating season or "rut", which is from late autumn to early winter, rams try to create a dominance hierarchy to determine access to ewes (female mouflon) for mating. Mouflon rams fight one another to obtain dominance and win an opportunity to mate with females. Mouflons reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 4 years. Young rams need to obtain dominance before they get