The Mouflon (Ovis gmelini) is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, and the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran.

[2][3] Ovis gmelini was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1841 for wild sheep in the Middle East.

[10] However, a comparison of the mitochondrial DNA control region (CR) found that two subspecies of urial, Ovis vignei (or orientalis) arkal and O. v./o.

[13][14][15] This demonstrated that a common species (in this case, a domestic sheep) can successfully become a surrogate for the birth of an exotic animal such as the mouflon.

If cloning of the mouflon can proceed successfully, it has the potential to reduce strain on the number of living specimens.

In Sardinia, the male is called Murvoni, and the female Murva, though it is not unusual to hear the peasants style both indiscriminately Mufion, which is a palpable corruption of the Greek Ophion.