| Rusa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sambar | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Tribe: | Cervini |
| Genus: | Rusa C. H. Smith, 1827 |
| Type species | |
| Cervus unicolor | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Rusa is agenus of deer from southern Asia. They have traditionally been included inCervus, andgenetic evidence suggests this may be more appropriate than their present placement in a separate genus.[1]
Three of the four species have relatively small distributions in the Philippines and Indonesia, but thesambar is more widespread, ranging from India east and north to China and south to theGreater Sundas. All arethreatened byhabitat loss and hunting in their native ranges, but three of the species have also beenintroduced elsewhere.
The genus name derives fromMalayrusa meaning "deer."[2]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Rusa alfredi | Visayan spotted deer, Philippine spotted deer | ThePhilippines. |
 | Rusa marianna | Philippine brown deer or Philippine sambar | Negros-Panay,Babuyan/Batanes,Palawan & theSulu Faunal Regions, Philippines. |
.jpg) | Rusa timorensis | Javan rusa, Timor rusa, or Sunda sambar | East Timor;Indonesian islands ofFlores,Gili Motang,Komodo andRinca. |
 | Rusa unicolor | Sambar, Indian sambar-deer, Malayan sambar | Most of the temperate, subtropical & tropicalIndian subcontinent south of theHimalayas (incl.Bangladesh,Nepal,Sri Lanka), mainlandSoutheast Asia (incl.Cambodia,Laos,Malaysian mainland,Myanmar, edges ofSingapore,Thailand,Vietnam),Brunei,Indonesia (Borneo,Sumatra),southern China (includingHainan Island) andTaiwan. |