| Mantchurian Elk | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
|
Data Deficient
|
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Suborder: | Ruminantia |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Cervinae |
| Genus: | Cervus |
| Species: | C. canadensis |
| Subspecies: | C. c. xanthopygus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cervus canadensis (Erxleben, 1777)[1] |
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Cervus canadensis xanthopygus |
|
The Manchurian wapiti (Cervus canadensis xanthopygus) is a subspecies of elk, native to eastern Asia.
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.
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 were originally described as a distinct subspecies, the Alashan-Wapiti (Cervus candiensis alashanicus). However recent genetic research indicates that this deer belongs to the Manchurian subspecies.[2]