🐂Musk ox
The muskox is a hoofed mammal of the family Bovidae. Native to the Arctic, it is noted for its thick coat and for the strong odor emitted by males during the seasonal rut, from which its name derives. This musky odor has the effect of attracting females during mating season. Its Inuktitut name umingmak translates to "the bearded one".
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2022.
- Body mass
- 313 kg
- Body length
- 2.3 m
- Shoulder height
- 1.35 m
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 27 years
Everything we know about the Musk ox
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass313 kgCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 315 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length2.3 mCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Shoulder height1.35 m1.2–1.5 m · typical rangenot statedDetails ↓Hide ↑
'This moderate sized ruminant attains 1.2 to 1.5 m height at the shoulder with a large head, short neck and tail, and short, stocky legs.' Midpoint of the published range; 'attains' phrasing means the top end is a large-adult figure. Verified against the account PDF.
Source: Lent 1988, Ovibos moschatus, Mammalian Species 302:1-9, p. 1, https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/552797 · see citation
Brain mass350 gCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan27 yearsCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 27 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length9.77 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Age at maturity3.5 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation258 daysCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 258 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter size1COMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 1AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic levelHerbivoreCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleCrepuscular / mixedestimatedCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Population density0.93 per km²COMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l313 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
estimated = a model's estimate for a species nobody has measured; average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Musk ox yet: top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classMammalia
- ›orderArtiodactyla
- ›familyBovidae
- ›genusOvibos
- ›speciesOvibos moschatus
- classMammals · Mammalia
- orderEven-toed hoofed animals · Artiodactyla
- subfamilyCaprinae
- genusOvibos
All 16 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- classMammals · Mammalia
- subclassTheria
- superorderLaurasiatheria
- orderEven-toed hoofed animals · Artiodactyla
- suborderRuminantia
- infraorderPecora
- familyBovidae
- subfamilyCaprinae
- genusOvibos
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