Chamois | |
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Wild chamois in the Canton of Bern | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Caprinae |
Tribe: | Caprini |
Genus: | Rupicapra |
Species: | R. rupicapra
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Binomial name | |
Rupicapra rupicapra | |
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Holocene distribution of the chamois | |
Synonyms | |
Capra rupicapra Linnaeus, 1758 |
The chamois (/ˈʃæmwɑː/)[citation needed] (Rupicapra rupicapra) or Alpine chamois is a species of goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra to the Carpathian Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Rila–Rhodope massif, Pindus, the northeastern mountains of Turkey, and the Caucasus.[1] It has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand. Some subspecies of chamois are strictly protected in the EU under the European Habitats Directive.[2]