Domestic Sheep

Open encyclopedia reference

Sheep (pl.: sheep) or domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are a domesticated ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term sheep can apply to other species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sheep. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. There are around 1.2 billion domestic sheep as of 2019, making them easily the most common species of sheep. An adult female is referred to as a ewe ( yoo); an intact male as a ram, occasionally a tup; a castrated male as a wether; and a young sheep as a lamb. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe and Asia, with Iran being a geographic envelope of the domestication center. One of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleeces, meat (lamb, hogget, or mutton), and sheep milk. A sheep's wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is usually harvested by shearing.

Wikipedia contributors, Sheep; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:40:49.861979+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758

Name authority

Linnaeus, 1758

Common name

Domestic Sheep

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Artiodactyla

Family

Bovidae

Genus

Ovis

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderArtiodactyla Owen, 1848
12. familyBovidae Gray, 1821
13. subfamilyAntilopinae Gray, 1821
14. tribeCaprini Gray, 1821
15. genusOvis Linnaeus, 1758
16. speciesOvis aries Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Ovis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 166 records assigned to Bovidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=552475 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:4B9VF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.