Capra fossil map
Where fossils of Capra have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 11.63 million years ago to the present (Tortonian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Bovidae |
| Named by | Linnaeus 1758 |
| Fossil records | 154 occurrences at 66 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Kenya, Israel, France, Netherlands, Northern Mariana Islands, Morocco … |
| Rock formations | txn:42742, Nubia, Benot Ya'aqov, Guadix, Piram Conglomerate |
About Capra
Capra is a genus of mammals, the goats, comprising ten species, including the markhor and several species known as ibexes. The domestic goat (Capra hircus) is a domesticated species derived from the bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus), a subspecies of the wild goat. It is one of the oldest domesticated species of animal—according to archaeological evidence its earliest domestication occurred in Iran at 10,000 calibrated calendar years ago.
Wild goats are animals of mountain habitats. They are very agile and hardy, able to climb on bare rock and survive on sparse vegetation. They can be distinguished from the genus Ovis, which includes sheep, by the presence of scent glands close to the feet, in the groin, and in front of the eyes, and the absence of other facial glands, and by the presence of a beard in some specimens, and of hairless calluses on the knees of the forelegs.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Capra (genus) (revision 1360252226), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q172923.
