How many subfamilies of deer are there?
Three subfamilies are recognised: Capreolinae (first described by the English zoologist Joshua Brookes in 1828), Cervinae (described by Goldfuss) and Hydropotinae (first described by French zoologist Édouard Louis Trouessart in 1898). Other attempts at the classification of deer have been based on morphological and genetic differences.
What type of animal is a deer?
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, the fallow deer, and the chital; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer (caribou), the roe deer, the mule deer, and the moose.
What kind of animal is a bovine?
Small breeds of domestic bovid, such as the Miniature Zebu, are kept as pets. Bovine skull. Bovine is derived from Latin bos, "ox", through Late Latin bovinus. Bos comes from the Indo-European root *gwous, meaning ox.
Where do deer live in the wild?
Spain, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus Mountains still have virgin forest areas that are not only home to sizable deer populations but also for other animals that were once abundant such as the wisent, Eurasian lynx, Iberian lynx, wolves, and brown bears .
Are deer a bovine?
Taxonomically, deer, elk, moose and caribou are in the Class Mammalia, which includes all mammals. They are then segregated into the Order Artiodactyla, which contains all the even-toed ungulates, including sheep, bison, pigs and, yes, cows — so they are related at this level.
Is deer a bovine or equine?
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae....Deer.Deer Temporal range:Kingdom:AnimaliaPhylum:ChordataClass:MammaliaOrder:Artiodactyla11 more rows
What animal family do deer belong to?
family CervidaeThe deer (family Cervidae) comprises 43 species of hoofed ruminants in the order Artiodactyla. They are notable for having two large and two small hooves on each foot and also for having antlers in the males of most species and in the females of one species.
Are deer part of the Bovidae family?
Antelopes belong to family Bovidae (as do sheep, goat and cattle), while deer belong to family Cervidae. Both are even-toed ungulates (hoofed animals) and ruminant mammals.
What animals are bovine?
A bovine refers to a domestic animal of the species Bos taurus (cattle) or Bubalus bubalis (water buffalo), and also includes hybrids like Beefalo.
Can horses breed with deer?
From the standpoint of taxonomic classification, deer-horse hybrids are similar to cow-horse hybrids, a cross that has been reported far more often than deer-horse, probably because both cattle and horses are common domestic animals.
What are deer closely related to?
The family is quite large, and includes caribou, elk, moose, muntjacs and wapiti. Cervids are the second most diverse family after bovids (antelopes, bison, buffalo, goats, sheep, etc.).
Can moose and deer mate?
“No, that is not possible,” he says without hesitation. Although moose and elk are both deer species, the chances of the two reproducing are slim to none. “Elk and moose belong to different subfamilies of deer—genetically very far apart and totally incompatible.”
What family are deer and moose in?
DeerMoose / Family
Can a cow and a deer mate?
Animals of different species have also been known to find each other without any human prodding. White-tailed deer and mule deer can mate and create offspring, as do domestic cattle and bison, cattle and yaks, wolves and dogs, wolves and coyotes, and coyotes and dogs.
Is a moose a deer?
moose, (Alces alces), largest member of the deer family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla). Moose are striking in appearance because of their towering size, black colour, long legs, pendulous muzzle, and dangling hairy dewlap (called a bell) and the immense, wide, flat antlers of old bulls.
Are elk bovine?
Elk are ruminants and therefore have four-chambered stomachs. Unlike white-tailed deer and moose, which are chiefly browsers, elk are similar to cattle in that they are primarily grazers. But like other deer, they also browse.
What are the subfamily Bovinae?
The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes . The evolutionary relationship between the members of the group is still debated, and their classification ...
Where are cattle kept?
Cattle are kept as livestock almost everywhere except in parts of India and Nepal, where they are considered sacred by most Hindus. Bovids are used as draft animals and as riding animals. Small breeds of domestic bovid, such as the Miniature Zebu, are kept as pets.
What are the two main groups of deer?
The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, the fallow deer, and the chital; and the Capreolinae , including the reindeer (caribou), the roe deer, the mule deer, and the moose.
Where are deer found in North America?
The highest concentration of large deer species in temperate North America lies in the Canadian Rocky Mountain and Columbia Mountain regions between Alberta and British Columbia where all five North American deer species ( white-tailed deer, mule deer, caribou, elk, and moose) can be found.
Why are deer important to the economy?
Their economic importance includes the use of their meat as venison, their skins as soft, strong buckskin, and their antlers as handles for knives. Deer hunting has been a popular activity since at least the Middle Ages and remains a resource for many families today.
How many moults do deer have in a year?
Deer undergo two moults in a year; for instance, in red deer the red, thin-haired summer coat is gradually replaced by the dense, greyish brown winter coat in autumn, which in turn gives way to the summer coat in the following spring. Moulting is affected by the photoperiod.
What is a young of a small species?
The young of small species is a fawn and of large species a calf; a very small young may be a kid. A castrated male is a havier. A group of any species is a herd. The adjective of relation is cervine; like the family name Cervidae, this is from Latin: cervus, meaning stag or deer .
How big is a deer?
Deer exhibit a broad variation in physical proportions. The largest extant deer is the moose, which is nearly 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) tall and weighs up to 800 kilograms (1,800 lb). The elk stands 1.4–2 metres (4.6–6.6 ft) at the shoulder and weighs 240–450 kilograms (530–990 lb).
What does "deer" mean in German?
Etymology and terminology. The word deer was originally broad in meaning, becoming more specific with time. Old English dēor and Middle English der meant a wild animal of any kind. Cognates of Old English dēor in other dead Germanic languages have the general sense of animal, such as Old High German tior, Old Norse djur or dȳr, Gothic dius, ...
What are the wild animals in the mountain goat family?
They have a four-chambered stomach and are herbivores. Wild species in this family found in North America include: the American bison, the mountain goat, and the American bighorn sheep. World Status Key.
Where are bovidae found?
There are 140 species of wild and domesticated animals in this family. They are found in Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe. The majority of the species in this family are found in Africa.
