| Siberian roe deer | |
|---|---|
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| A stag (male) at theDaursky Nature Reserve inZabaykalsky Krai,Siberia | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Genus: | Capreolus |
| Species: | C. pygargus |
| Binomial name | |
| Capreolus pygargus | |
| Subspecies | |
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| Range of genusCapreolus | |
| Synonyms | |
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TheSiberian roe deer,eastern roe deer, orAsian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), is a species ofroe deer found innortheastern Asia. In addition toSiberia andMongolia, it is found inKazakhstan, theTian Shan Mountains ofKyrgyzstan, easternTibet, theKorean Peninsula and forested regions ofnorthern China.
Itsspecific namepygargus, literally "white-rumped", is shared by thepygarg, an antelope known in antiquity. The name was chosen by the German biologistPeter Simon Pallas in the late 18th century.[3] The Siberian roe deer has long antlers.
The Siberian roe deer was once considered to be the same species as the Europeanroe deer (Capreolus capreolus), but it is now considered to be a separate species.
The two subspecies of the Siberian roe deer areC. p. pygargus andC. p. tianschanicus (the latter is named for theTian Shan mountains).[4]
The Siberian roe deer is a medium-sized metacarpalian deer, with a long neck and large ears. It is typically up to 146 cm (4.8 ft) in body length and 59 kg (130 lb) in weight, making it larger thanC. capreolus where populations from Ural and Northern Kazakhstan are the largest on average, followed by those from Transbaikal, Amur, and Primolskil regions.[5] It has largerantlers with more branches than those of European roe deer. Siberian roe deer generally live about 8–12 years, with a maximum of about 18 years. In winter the northern populations exhibit light gray coloring, but their southern counterparts are grayish brown and ochraceous.[6] The belly is creamy and the caudal patch is white. In the summer, their coloring is reddish. Young have a spotted coat.[7] Males are larger and have three-tined antlers, widely spaced and slanting upward, which are shed in the autumn or early winter and begin to regrow shortly thereafter.[8]
Siberian roe deer are found within the temperate zone of Eastern Europe and Central and East Asia. Fossil records show their territory once stretched to the northernCaucasus Mountains, as well as easternUkraine.[1][9] In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, their range was diminished by overhunting in Eastern Europe, northern Kazakhstan, western Siberia, and the northern regions of eastern Siberia. Due to a division in their range, two morphologically different subspecies resulted (Tian Shan and Siberian).[7] The Siberian and European roe deer meet at the Caucasus Mountains with the Siberian roe deer occupying the northern flank, and the European roe deer occupying the southern flank,Asia Minor, and parts of northwesternIran.
The Siberian roe deer has a light, slender build adapted for tall, dense grass.[6] They live in forest andsteppe habitats and develop high densities in tall-grass meadows and floodplains.[10] They are adapted to severe weather extremes.[11]
It may have become naturalized inEngland for a short period in the early 20th century as an escapee from Woburn, but it wasextirpated by 1945.[12][13]
Denisova Cave, the famous site of the discovery ofDenisovans, has also yielded fossils of the Siberian roe deer.[14]
The diet of the Siberian roe deer consists of over 600 species of plants – mostlyherbaceousdicotyledons (58%),monocotyledons (16%), and woody species (22%).[15] In winter, without proper sustenance, they have a loweredmetabolic rate.[16] In summer, their dietary need forsodium necessitates visits to naturalsalt licks.[17] Water is usually obtained through moisture-rich foods as opposed to directly from the source.[18]
Siberian roe deer can jump distances up to 15 m (49 ft)[citation needed], and mating occurs in August and September. Female Siberian roe deer are the only ungulates to undergoembryonic diapause.[19][20] Embryonic implantation takes place in January and gestation lasts 280–300 days.[21][22][23] Females usually have two young at a time, which are weaned after 4–5 months.[23][24] Females reach sexual maturity in their first year of age but usually do not breed until their second. Males usually mate in their third year of life.[19][21][23] The life-span of the Siberian roe deer does not usually exceed 10 years.[25]
Males mark their territory with olfactory marks, using secretion glands on the head skin, which they rub against trees, shrubs, and high grasses, or with visual marks, by fraying trees with their antlers. Vocal signals are also a form of communication in Siberian roe deer. They have six signals: squeaking or whistling, rasping, barking, whining, screaming, and nonvocal sounds.[26]
Some Siberian roe deer perform mass migrations.[27]
The Siberian roe deer is preyed upon by theAmur leopard,Siberian lynx,snow leopard,[28]Himalayan wolf,[29] andSiberian tiger.[30]
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Media related toSiberian roe deer at Wikimedia Commons
Data related toSiberian roe deer at Wikispecies