Taxonomy and origin of reindeer

• Published in: Rangifer
• Main Author: Knut H. Røed
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Septentrio Academic Publishing 2007
• Subjects: caribou; origin; reindeer; taxonomi; Animal culture; SF1-1100; Arctic; Rangifer; Beringia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7557/2.27.3.266; https://doaj.org/article/5dacb11af4fd49ec88c31991ea7cabab

Reindeer and caribou was probably the key species for the human immigration and colonization in the Arctic and sub-Arctic by the retreat of the ice in the last glacial period. The close connection between human and reindeer has contributed to great interest and variation in reindeer taxonomy and origin. Through the history several both species, subspecies and types of reindeer and caribou have been described. The early taxonomy of the species is marked by comparisons of individual specimen using traits as body size, skin colour or antler formations - characteristics known to be highly variable and subjected to environmental and nutritional level. During the mid 1900s the taxonomy was more based on variation of morphological traits among populations by analysing a large series of specimens representative of the various geographic populations and a consensus of classification of several subspecies, all belonging to the same species, evolved. During late 1900 the development of modern molecular techniques procured tools for revealing genetic structure of populations reflecting different origin and isolation rather than environmental influences. The genetic structure revealed a major genetic dichotomy between American woodland caribou on the one hand and all other types of reindeer and caribou on the other which gave evidence that the ancestors of present woodland caribou had survived and evolved in ice free refugium south to the glacier in North America and the ancestors of all other types of reindeer and caribou had evolved separated from these in refugium in Eurasia and Beringia. The ancestors of present reindeer in Scandinavia appear furthermore to have evolved from different populations separated during the last glaciation period and the colonization and origin of present wild and domestic reindeer will be discussed in this perspective. Taksonomi og opprinnelse til rein Abstract in Norwegian / Sammendrag: Rein og caribou har hatt stor betydning for det moderne menneskets utvikling og kolonisering av nordlige ...