Ovis musimon
- noun
- Specialized
:
mouflón
- The curved horns of the male Ovis musimon are a distinctive feature of this wild sheep species.
Examples
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The Ovis musimon is often regarded as the wild ancestor of modern domestic sheep.
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Researchers traveled to Corsica to observe a herd of Ovis musimon in its native habitat.
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The Ovis musimon is a unique species found in the mountains.
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Did you know that the Ovis musimon has curved horns?
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Researchers traveled to Corsica to observe a herd of Ovis musimon in its native habitat.
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The Ovis musimon is often regarded as the wild ancestor of modern domestic sheep.
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The curved horns of the male Ovis musimon are a distinctive feature of this wild sheep species.
Synonyms
A wild sheep with short curved horns and a brown coat that lives in mountains
A wild mountain sheep with short curved horns and brown fur from Corsica and Sardinia
Surface Forms
Morphology
Ovis + musimon
This is a Latin scientific name (genus + specific epithet). Although 'Ovis' relates to sheep, the second element 'musimon' is not an English lexical item with a transparent meaning, and the binomial functions as a proper name rather than a compositional phrase, so the overall meaning ('a particular wild mountain sheep') cannot be derived by a B1 learner from the parts.
Etymology
Ovis musimon comes from old Latin words: Ovis means 'sheep' and musimon refers to the wild 'mouflon' type of sheep. So picture a wild mountain sheep with curved horns on Corsica or Sardinia — the name tells you it is a 'wild mountain sheep' and an ancestor of domestic sheep.
