Central Asian Red Deer
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| Cervus affinis New species designate |
The Central Asian Red Deer (Cervus affinis) (also known as Asian Red Deer and Himalayan/Tibetan Red Deer) is one of three species of Red Deer that consist of five known isolated populations (subspecies) of primitive Red Deer that live primarily in Asia east of the Caspian Sea and south of Mongolia. They live in the lowlands of Turkestan, the Tibetan Highlands, and the high country of the Himalayan Mountains. These deer are the most primitive and least known of all three Red Deer species and are most closely related in DNA to the Sika Deer. All subspecies are either threatened or show a population decline. Some Chinese populations of Central Asian Red Deer, along with Sika Deer and Wapitis have been raised on deer farms for their antlers at one time.
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[edit] Habitat
Each of the subspecies are isolated from one another by mountains and deserts and are specialized in either lowland riparian inhabit or highland mountain habitat, but not both. These deer are unlike European Red Deer or Wapitis that have larger geographic distributions that covers both mountain and lowland habitats in that their populations are more restricted. Highland and lowland populations may have all been connected at one time forming a continuous distribution that covered much of Turkestan, the Tibetan Highlands, and the Himalayan Mountains.
Lowland Deer
The Bactrian Deer (Cervus affinis bactrianus) and Yarkand Deer (Cervus affinis yarkandensis) both live in lowland riparian corridors of mixed deciduous (willow/poplar) vegetation surrounded by deserts. The Bactrian Deer (also known as Bukhara Deer or Bactrian Wapiti) lives in Russian Turkestan (West Turkestan) and adjacent areas in Northern Afghanistan to the west of the Tianshan Mountains. The Yarkand Deer (also known as Tarim Deer or Lop Nor Stag) lives in the Tarim Basin Deciduous Forests and Steppe Ecoregion in the Tarim Basin of China's Xinjiang Province (East Turkestan).
Highland Deer
The Kashmir Stag (Cervus affinis hanglu), Shou (Cervus affinis affinis), and MacNeill's Deer (Cervus affinis macneilli) inhabit mountainous terrain. The Kashmir Stag (also known as Hangul) lives in the mixed deciduous and coniferous forests that grow on the mountain slopes and valleys of Kashmir. The Shou (also known as Tibetan Red Deer) occupies high mountain grassland and brushland habitat in Northern Bhutan and adjacent areas in Southern Tibet, and is similar in ecology to the Thorold's Deer. MacNeill's Deer (also known as Sichuan Deer or Gansu Red Deer) occupy subalpine areas with willow trees and rhododendron thickets in mountainous areas of Eastern Tibet and the adjacent Chinese Provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu.
[edit] Appearance
There are subtle differences in appearance between the various subspecies of Central Asian Red Deer primarily in size and coat. The shou and MacNeill's Deer are the largest subspecies, and the Bactrian Deer is the smallest. The antler structure of most subspecies features a 5 prong plan (5 tines on each antler) with occasional "cups" formed at the fourth and fifth tines as in European Red Deer but like the Elk or Wapiti they have large bez (second tines), and have a bend after the third tine. Many older MacNeill's Deer stags (but not all) do have antlers of the 6 prong plan (6 tines on each antler) reminiscent of Wapitis, which is probably why MacNeill's Deer was once considered a subspecies of Wapiti.
Male Highland Deer (Kashmir Stag, Shou, and MacNeill's Deer) have small rump patches and short neck manes. In the case of MacNeill's Deer, females also have short neck manes. Male Lowland Deer (Bactrian Deer and Yarkand Deer) have large rump patches (reminiscent of Wapitis) but have no neck manes. However, they do have stronger and thicker neck muscles than female deer that may give the appearance of a neck mane. Most female deer, except for female MacNeill's Deer, generally lack neck manes. Female deer are slightly smaller than male deer, but the difference in size is not as pronounced as it is in the European Red Deer subspecies.
All subspecies have short tails and are born spotted. Most individuals lose their spots by adulthood. However, adult Bactrian Deer and Kashmir Stag may possess a few spots on the backs of their summer coats. Bactrian Red Deer have a coat pattern (most noticeable in males) that resembles the coat of the American Elk or Wapitis, which is why this subspecies is sometimes called the Bactrian Wapiti.
Rutting calls of Central Asian Red Deer are primitive and may resemble both the European Red Deer and Wapitis. The Kashmir stag's mating call starts out with a roar like a European Red Deer but ends more like a bugle of an American Elk.[1]
[edit] DNA studies on Cervus (Red Deer, Asian Red Deer, Wapiti) subspecies
Biologists have until recently stated that Red Deer and Wapiti (or Elk) are the same species forming a continuous distribution throughout temperate Eurasia and North America, based on fertile hybrids that have been produced under captive conditions. Animal behavior is generally different in captivity than in the wild, and the assumption that the same results would happen in the wild as in captivity is not necessarily the best test methodology to determine speciation. Recent DNA studies conducted on hundreds samples from Red Deer and Elk subspecies determined that there are three distinct species of Red Deer and divides them into an Western (European), Central (Turkestan/Himalayan Mountains/Tibetan Plateau), and Eastern (North Asia, East Asia, North America) species grouping. The western species is the European Red Deer and includes the deer that are found in Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. The central species is the Central Asian Red Deer that inhabits temperate riparian vegetation corridors surrounded by deserts and temperate mountainous environments of the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau of Central Asia. The eastern species is the Wapiti (or Elk) whose range is from Northern and Eastern Asia into North America. Altogether, the study concluded that not more than 9 distinct subspecies of Red Deer exist and that the eastern, central, and western groups should be considered to be three separate species.[2] Both the Central Asian Red Deer and East Asian/North American Red Deer (Elk or Wapiti) are more closely related in DNA to the Sika Deer than is the European Red Deer. Biologists have not adopted a general consensus that there are three distinct species.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has identified all five subspecies of Central Asian Red Deer (Cervus affinis) as (potentially) endangered.[3].
| Subspecies | Classification | Status | Historic Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bactrian Deer | Cervus affinis bactrianus | Vulnerable (D1) | Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| Kashmir Stag | Cervus affinis hanglu | Endangered (D) | Indian, Pakistan |
| MacNeill's Deer | Cervus affinis macneilli | Data deficient | China |
| Shou | Cervus affinis affinis | Data deficient | Bhutan, China |
| Yarkand Deer | Cervus affinis yarkandensis | Endangered (A1a) | China |
Please note that at the time of writing and tabulating the data above, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources classified the these five subspecies as "Cervus Elaphus". According to the proposed three Red Deer species classification, these five subspecies actually belong to the Central Asian Red Deer (Cervus affinis) species. The Shou (affinis) and Tibetan Red Deer (wallichi) are actually the same subspecies, and MacNeill's Deer (macneilli) and Kansu Red Deer (kansuensis) are actually the same subspecies.
[edit] Predators
Aside from man, the Wolf is probably the most dangerous of predators that most Central Asian Red Deer encounter. Occasionally, the Brown bear and Asiatic black bear will predate on these deer as well.[4] Other possible predators are dholes and snow leopards. Eurasian Lynx and wild boars sometimes prey on the calves.
[edit] Migration
Lowland Deer
The Bactrian and Yarkand Deer which are dependent on the lowland riparian corridors for food and shelter do not migrate but may disperse into adjacent desert areas at night or at times of cooler temperatures.
Highland Deer
The Kashmir Stag tends to migrate between higher and lower elevations following the melting snows to higher altitudes in the spring and return to lower elevations for the winter months. The Shou and MacNeill's Deer that live in higher altitudes above the forested areas do not migrate between higher and lower elevations, but probably occupy different areas of the high country depending on the time of year.
[edit] See also
- Red Deer - European Red Deer
- East European red deer - a subspecies of European Red Deer
- Wapiti - East Asian/North American Red Deer (Wapiti)
- Sika Deer
- Thorold's Deer
[edit] References cited
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- ^ Geist, Valerius (1998). Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behavior, and Ecology. Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0811704963.
- ^ Ludt, Christian J.; Wolf Schroeder, Oswald Rottmann, and Ralph Kuehn. Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of red deer (Cervus elaphus) (pdf). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (2004) 1064–1083. Elsevier. Retrieved on 2006-10-06.
- ^ Cervus elaphus. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Retrieved on 2006-10-14.
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