Markhor

Open encyclopedia reference

The markhor (Capra falconeri) is a large wild Capra species native to the mountain regions at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, including the Karakoram and Himalayas. It occurs in parts of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. It has been listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015.

The markhor is the national animal of Pakistan, where it is also known as the screw-horn or screw-horned goat. The word "markhor" is derived from the Persian word markhar, meaning "curly" because of its curly horns. The word, which comes from both Pashto and mainly classical Persian languages, is combined from "mar" and "khor" and more literally means "snake eater", referencing the ancient belief that the markhor would actively kill and consume snakes.

Wikipedia contributors, Markhor; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:24:33.401160+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Capra falconeri (Wagner, 1839)

Name authority

(Wagner, 1839)

Common name

Markhor

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Artiodactyla

Family

Bovidae

Genus

Capra

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. genusCapra Linnaeus, 1758
16. speciesCapra falconeri (Wagner, 1839)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Capra. 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=625138 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

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:QS67. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.