The Arkhar-Merino is a sheep breed. This breed was produced by crossbreeding between wild

Arkhar The urial ( ; ''Ovis vignei''), also known as the arkars or shapo, is a wild sheep native to Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Characteristics Urial males have large horns, curling outwards from the t ...

rams and Precoce merino ewes in the Kurmektinski research station between 1934 and 1949 in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, then in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. This station is located between Kungei and Zailiiskii mountains in the Alma Ata region. The Arkhar-Merino has a firm and expanded skeleton. It is also bulky with long legs and broad chest. The average

staple Staple may refer to: *Staple food, a foodstuff that forms the basic constituent of a diet *Staple (fastener), a small formed metal fastener **Surgical staple Arts, entertainment, and media * Staple (band), a Christian post-hardcore band ** ''Stap ...

length is 6.24 to 8.08 cm in different regions of body. The average rate of wool fat is 11.95%. The average fiber diameter is 22.99 in ewes and 23.51 in ram. The greasy fleece weight is about 4.19 kg. In 1994 the Arkhar-Merino sheep was transformed to

Arasbaran Arasbaran ( fa, ارسباران ''Arasbârân'') or shortened to Arasbar ( fa, ارسبار ''Arasbâr''), meaning "The Banks of the Aras (river), Aras/Araxes river," also known as "Qaradagh" or "Karadagh" ( az, Qaradağ ...

research station which is attached to the Research Center for Natural Resources and Domestic Animals of East Azerbaijan (This station is located in the Khodaafarin district).

References

2. Hadi Esfandyari,2009. "Evaluation of fleece characteristics of Arkharmerino*Ghezel crossbreed sheep". BSAS annual meeting, Southport, UK

Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in Kazakhstan {{sheep-stub