Subspecies and Classification
Currently nine subspecies of argali are recognized:
- Altai argali, (Ovis ammon ammon)
- Karaganda argali, (Ovis ammon collium)
- Gobi argali, (Ovis ammon darwini)
- Tibetan argali, (Ovis ammon hodgsoni)
- North China argali, (Ovis ammon jubata)
- Tian Shan argali, (Ovis ammon karelini)
- Kara Tau argali, (Ovis ammon nigrimontana)
- Marco Polo argali, (Ovis ammon polii)
- Severtzov argali, (Ovis ammon severtzovi)
Some sources classify mouflon as Ovis ammon musimon. However, DNA testing has not supported this. Several subspecies of argali have been genetically tested for mtDNA and one study found that the subspecies Ovis ammon ammon, O. ammon darwini and the urial subspecies, O. vignei bochariensis grouped closely while the subspecies Ovis ammon collium and O. ammon nigrimontana grouped with the urial subspecies O. vignei arkal.
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