Manchurian wapiti

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The Manchurian wapiti (Cervus canadensis xanthopygus) is a subspecies of elk that's native to eastern Asia.

[edit] Description

This deer is reddish brown during summer, and brownish gray in winter. It has dark hairs on the neck and dark underparts, followed by a light-colored rump patch. It is smaller than North American elks (Cervus canadensis canadensis) with smaller and stouter antlers.

Male deer are wapiti-like with a neck mane, and as mentioned, relatively small wapiti-like antlers. Female deer are more red deer-like and lack neck manes. This deer is the most red deer-like of the wapitis, being adapted to mixed deciduous forest environments in Manchuria, Yakutia, Northern China, and North Korea. Like many Red deer, adult deer may have some visible spots in their summer coats.

[edit] Range

This deer is found in southeastern Siberia (to the east of Lake Baikal), northeastern Mongolia, Manchuria, northern Korea, and northeastern China. Similar forms from Alxa, Gansu, Shanxi and southern Mongolia havve been described as a distinct subspecies, the Alashan-Wapiti (Cervus candiensis alashanicus) originally. However recent genetic research indicates, that this deer also belong to the Manchurian subspecies^[1].

[edit] References

1. ^ Christian J. Ludt|hrsg=Elsevier|url=http://www.wzw.tum.de/wildbio/paper/cerphyl.pdf#search=%22Barbary%20red%20deer%22|werk=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 (2004) 1064–1083|titel=Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of red deer (Cervus elaphus)|zugriff=2007-08-21}}