Pyrenean Ibex - History

History

There are multiple theories regarding the evolution and historical migration of the C. Pyrenaica into the Spanish peninsula. Scientists, including paleontologists and geneticists, should continue to find paleologic, phylogenetic, and other evidence to discover a molecular connection between the different subspecies. Knowing the history of the species can better teach scientists how the ibex and C. Pyrenaica affected the region and could provide a new understanding for the relationship between subspecies.

One possibility is that the C. Pyrenaica evolved from an ancestor related to C. caucasica from the Middle East at “the beginning of the last glacial period (120-80 ky).” The Pyrenaica most likely moved from the northern Alps and traveled through southern France into the Pyrenees area at the beginning of Magdalenian period at about 18 kya. If this is the case then the C. caucasica praepyrenaica may have been more different from the other three ibex species that lived in the Spanish peninsula than scientists currently know. For example, this would mean that the C. pyrenaica (possible migration 18ky) and C. ibex (300 ky earlier migration) would have evolved from different ancestors and been morphologically more different from their separate genes. It is known that all four subspecies lived together in the Upper Pleistocene time, but scientists are unsure of how much genetic exchange there could have been. The problem with this theory is that genetics suggest that the C. pyrenaica and C. ibex could have shared a more common origin, possibly the C. camburgensis.

There are many variations of when the Pyrenaica or Ibex migrated and evolved in the Spanish peninsula first. It is a possibility that the C. Pyrenaica was living in the Spanish Peninsula by the time that the ibexes began to migrate through the Alps. Genetic evidence also supports the theory that multiple Capra subspecies migrated to the Spanish region at around the same time period. Hybridization may have been possible, but the results are not conclusive.