Queen Charlotte Islands caribou

Queen Charlotte Islands caribou or Dawson's caribou
Extinct  (1908[1])
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Genus: Rangifer
Species: R. tarandus
Subspecies: R. t. dawsoni
Trinomial name
Rangifer tarandus dawsoni
Seton, 1900
Approximate range of subspecies of Rangifer tarandus. Overlap with other subspecies of caribou is possible for contiguous range. 1.Rangifer tarandus caribou subdivided into ecotypes: woodland (boreal), woodland (migratory), woodland (montane), 2.R. t. dawsoni, 3. R. t. granti, 4. Barren-ground caribou R. t. groenlandicus, 5. Groenlandicus/Pearyi 6. R. t. pearyi

The Queen Charlotte Islands caribou or Dawson's caribou (Rangifer tarandus dawsoni) is an extinct subspecies of the caribou that once lived on Graham Island, the largest of the Haida Gwaii islands in British Columbia, Canada. Possible causes of extinction include habitat destruction, introduced disease and overhunting. It was gray in appearance. Recent analysis of mtDNA suggests that the Queen Charlotte Islands Caribou was not genetically distinct from the subspecies from the Canadian mainland.[2]

References

  1. Dawson Caribou, Species at Risk
  2. Byun, S.A.; B.F. Koop, and T.E. Reimchen. (2002). Evolution of the Dawson caribou (Rangifer tarandus dawsoni). Can. J. Zool. 80(5): 956–960. doi:10.1139/z02-062. NRC Canada. online

External links

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