A wild goat of dry, rocky mountains in northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It moves along slopes by day to graze on grasses and leaves.
Its coat is sandy, with a white underside and black-and-white leg markings. Males have long, backward-curving horns; older males grow a dark beard.
Nubian ibex groups in Oman live in central and southern mountain regions. A 2021 comparison of mitochondrial DNA found higher diversity in the south than in the central region, and restricted genetic exchange between the two. The result shows that the regional groups have followed different histories.
In the same study, wild ibex from Oman formed a separate branch from captive animals in the genetic tree. The authors said the captive animals were unlikely to have come from the Omani wild population and recommended treating that wild group as a distinct management unit. They called for nuclear DNA comparisons to clarify relationships across the species range. The sampled sites included Al Wusta in central Oman and Shalim and Dhofar in the south.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
A study of Nubian ibex in Oman found greater mitochondrial diversity in the south than in the central region, with restricted gene flow between them. It also found that wild Omani animals formed a separate genetic group from captive animals, supporting conservation planning that recognizes the wild population as a distinct unit.