The gorals are four

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Naemorhedus''. They are small

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, cam ...

s with a

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

-like or

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

-like appearance. Until recently, this genus also contained the

serow The serows ( or ) are four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were until recently also classified under '' Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Extant ...

species (now in genus '' Capricornis'').

Etymology

The original name is based on Latin ''nemor-haedus'', from ''nemus, nemoris'' 'grove' and ''haedus'' 'little goat', but it was misspelt ''Naemorhedus'' by Hamilton Smith (1827).Article 32.5.1.
of International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature reads: "If there is in the original publication itself, without recourse to any external source of information, clear evidence of an inadvertent error, such as a lapsus calami or a copyist's or printer's error, it must be corrected." The name "goral" comes from an eastern Indian word for the

Himalayan goral The Himalayan goral (''Naemorhedus goral'') or the gray goral, is a bovid species native to the Himalayas. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List because the population is thought to be declining significantly due to habitat loss an ...

Extant species

Habitat

Gorals are often found on rocky hillsides at high elevations. Though their territories often coincide with those of the closely related serow, the goral will usually be found on higher, steeper slopes with less vegetation.

Characteristics

Gorals typically weigh and are in length, with short, backward-facing horns. Coloration differs between species and individuals, but generally ranges from light gray to dark red-brown, with lighter patches on the chest, throat, and underside, and a dark stripe down the spine. They have woolly undercoats covered by longer, coarser hair, which helps to protect them in the cold areas where they are often found. Though the groups share many similarities, gorals are stockier than antelopes and have broader, heavier hooves. Female gorals have four functional teats, while female goats and sheep have only two functional teats. Unlike serows, gorals have no working

preorbital gland The preorbital gland is a paired exocrine gland found in many species of hoofed animals, which is homologous to the lacrimal gland found in humans. These glands are trenchlike slits of dark blue to black, nearly bare skin extending from the med ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1370188 Caprids