Tunisian Barbarin

The Tunisian Barbarin descends from the Near East Fat-tailed. Two Italian breeds, the Barbaresca Siciliana of Sicily and the Laticauda of Calabria and Campania, are derived from it.^[6]: 753

In 1991 the total population in Tunisia was reported to be 5 million;^[2] in 1992, a population of 50 000 was reported in Algeria.^[4] In 2008, the Barbarin constituted about 60% of the overall sheep population in Tunisia, which was estimated to count approximately 4 million ewes.^[3]: 42

The Barbarin is a coarse-wool breed, and is reared mainly for meat.^[6]: 753 It is particularly well adapted to the intense heat of desert areas, and can tolerate brackish water.^[4] The coat is white, and the face is either brick-red or black. The black face gives the animal better resistance to sunlight and to photosensitivity caused by eating Hypericum perforatum, "St. John's Wort".^[2]

Apart from the two principal types, a further eight sub-populations have been identified within the breed. These include an all-black variant, and two "spectacled" sub-types with a white head and patches of colour only around the eyes and round the muzzle: the black-spectacled type is called sardi, and the red-spectacled one, sagaa.^{[3]: 43, 46}