Cytogenetics, morphology and evolution of four subspecies of the Giant Sheep argali (Ovis ammon) of Asia

Dalai-lamae (Ovis ammon dalai-lamae), Gobi (O. a. darwini), Kara Tau (O. a. nigrimontana) and Tibetan (O. a. hodgsoni) argali share a 2n = 56 diploid chromosome number and a karyotype consisting of 2 pairs of biarmed and 25 p airs of acrocentric autosomes, a large acrocentric X and a minute Y chromos ome. The Giemsa-banding patterns of the largest pair of biarmed chromosomes were identical to those of the largest biarmed chromosomes in all wild she ep and domestic sheep of the genus Ovis. The banding patterns of the second pair of biarmed chromosomes (metacentric) were identical to the third pair of biarmed chromosomes in Ovis with 2n = 54 and to the third largest pair of chromosomes in the 2n = 52 karyotype of Siberian snow sheep (O. nivicola ). The G-banded karyotypes of dalai-lamae, darwini, hodgsoni and nigrimonta na are consistent with all subspecies of argali (O. ammon), except that the Y chromosome is acrocentric instead of metacentric as typical of the argal iform wild sheep and Ovis. The Dalai-lamae and Tibetan argali specimens exh ibit the light-colored, long-haired ruffs and body coloration typical of ar galis from the Tibetan Plateau. The Gobi argali, from the extreme western G obi, is similar to the dark phase argali.