Balearic Cave Goat
Myotragus balearicus
Conservation Status
Data DeficientMammalia · Artiodactyla · Bovidae
About
Myotragus is an extinct genus of goat-antelope in the tribe Caprini which lived on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Menorca in the western Mediterranean until its extinction around 4,300 years ago. The fossil record of Myotragus on the Balearic Islands extends over 5 million years back to the early Pliocene on Mallorca, having thought to have arrived from the European mainland after the evaporation of the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis at the end of the Miocene epoch. Following the refilling of the Mediterranean at the beginning of the Pliocene, the Balearic Islands remained strongly isolated, allowing the evolution of Myotragus to occur over the next 5.3 million years with little outside influence.
Fun Fact
Following the refilling of the Mediterranean at the beginning of the Pliocene, the Balearic Islands remained strongly isolated, allowing the evolution of Myotragus to occur over the next 5.
Quick Facts
Habitat
Native to the islands.
Diet
Herbivore
Lifespan
300 years
Threats
- Habitat Change
- Human Disturbance