Here we present the first data on chromosome banding for Capra falconeri heptneri (Zalkin, 1945) (Bovidae: Caprinae), a critically endangered subspecies of the markhor, and compare its G- and C-banding patterns with those of the congeneric Alpine ibex C. ibex Linnaeus, 1758 and the evolutionarily more distant cattle Bos laurus Linnaeus, 1758. The two goat species have identical karyotypes whereas B. taurus, which has the same diploid number (2n = 60) and autosomal fundamental number (aFN) differs in the morphology of two pairs of autosomes (9 and 14) and of the X chromosome, as well as in the amount of C heterochromatin. Although the study supports the earlier idea of karyotype homogeneity within the genus Capra, new comparative cytogenetic data for unstudied yet congeneric and other related species are necessary for our understanding of the pattern of chromosome evolution within the subfamily Caprinae and, more broadly, the family Bovidae.
