Goat evolution is the process by which domestic goats came to exist through evolution by natural selection. Wild goats — medium-sized mammals which are found in noticeably harsh environments, particularly forests and mountains, in the Middle East and Central Asia — were one of the first species domesticated by modern humans, with the date of domestication generally considered to be 8,000 BC.[1] Goats are part of the family Bovidae, a broad and populous group which includes a variety of ruminants such as bison, cows and sheep. Bovids all share many traits, such as hooves and a herbivorous diet and all males, along with many females, have horns. Bovids began to diverge from deer and giraffids during the early Miocene epoch.[2] The subfamily Caprinae, which includes goats, ibex and sheep, are considered to have diverged from the rest of Bovidae as early as the late Miocene,[3] with the group reaching its greatest diversity in the ice ages.
The tribe Caprini would subsequently develop from Caprids who arrived in the mountainous areas of Eurasia and split into goats and sheep in response to a further geographic separation. The ancestors of sheep remained in the foothills and the ancestors of goats went to higher altitudes.[3] This divergence resulted in the adaption of the ancestors of goats to a mountainous environment, producing many of the traits considered peculiar to the species. During the ice ages a genus called Capri evolved which would then diverge into the modern goat species, along with several species of ibex.
It is commonly held that the earliest domestication was of the bezoar ibex in the Zagros Mountains.[4] These earliest domesticated goats were used to produce meat and milk for Neolithic farmers,[5] along with providing many of the materials required to build residences and tools. Following the domestication of goats over 300 breeds have been established for a variety of purposes,[5] including for the maximation of milk production and for meat. Domestication and the selective breeding which resulted had a significant effect on the direction of goat evolution, with goats developing behaviour which is considered to have been influenced by consistent proximity to humans.[6] Selective breeding also significantly increased the physical diversity of modern goats, producing characteristics not seen in wild goats.
^"Breeds of Livestock; Goats: (Capra hircus)". Oklahoma State University Board of Regents.
^Savage, R.J.G.; Long, M.R. (1986). Mammal Evolution: an illustrated guide. New York: Facts on File. pp. 232–5. ISBN 978-0-8160-1194-0.
^ abGeist, Valerius (1984). Macdonald, D. (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 584–587. ISBN 0-87196-871-1
^Naderi, S.; Rezaei, H.-R.; Pompanon, F.; Blum, M. G. B.; Negrini, R.; Naghash, H.-R.; Balkiz, O.; Mashkour, M.; Gaggiotti, O. E.; Ajmone-Marsan, P.; Kence, A.; Vigne, J.-D.; Taberlet, P. (2008). "The goat domestication process inferred from large-scale mitochondrial DNA analysis of wild and domestic individuals". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (46): 17659–17664. Bibcode:2008PNAS..10517659N. doi:10.1073/pnas.0804782105. PMC 2584717. PMID 19004765.
^ abHirst, K. Kris. "The History of the Domestication of Goats". About.com. Accessed August 18, 2008.
^Deamer, Kacey (July 15, 2016), Man's New Best Friend Is a Goat?, Live Science
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