musk ox

views updated May 17 2018

musk ox Large, wild, shaggy ruminant, related to oxen and goats, native to n Canada and Greenland. Its brown fur reaches almost to the ground, and its down-pointing, recurved horns form a helmet over the forehead. When threatened, the herd forms a defensive circle round the calves. Length: to 2.3m (7.5ft); weight: to 410kg (903lb). Family Bovidae; species Ovibos moschatus. See also ox

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