Cervus canadensis Erxleben 1777

• Main Authors: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Lynx Edicions 2011
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Artiodactyla; Cervidae; Cervus; Cervus canadensis; Alaska; Beringia; Siberia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6514521; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A087C4FFD5FFD4FF60FA22EFD5F46A

26. Wapiti Cervus canadensis French: Cerf wapiti / German: Wapiti / Spanish: Uapiti Other common names: Elk (in North America); Alashan Wapiti (alashanicus), lzubra/Manchurian Wapiti (xanthopygus), Merriam'’s Wapiti (merriami), Tule Elk (in California) Taxonomy. Cervus canadensis Erxleben, 1777, E Canada. Here four subspecies are recognized. Two subspecies (the Siberian and the American ones) are more advanced, more associated to open habitats, with longer antlers and more contrasted coat markings. Wapiti likely originated in Beringia (NE Siberia-Alaska) during the last glaciation and about 12,000 years ago migrated westward into south Siberia and eastward into North America. Subspecies and Distribution. C.c.canadensisErxleben,1777—NorthAmerica. C.c.alashanicusBobrinskii&Flerov,1935—NChina(HelanShanMts,Ningxia&NeiMongol). C.c.sibiricusSevertzov,1873—fromTienShantoAltaiandWBaikal(KirgyzstanandNXinjiangtoSSiberiaandNMongolia). C. c. xanthopygus Milne-Edwards, 1867 — SW Siberia, Ussuriland, and Manchuria. Descriptive notes. Head-body 210-240 cm for males (bulls) and 190-230 cm for females (cows), tail 10-16 cm, shoulder height 145-165 cm (bulls) and 130-150 cm (cows); postrutting weight 220-400 kg (bulls) and 150-250 kg (cows). The heaviest animals occur in southern Canada and northern USA (with records of 470-530 kg lean weight for bulls and 345 kg for cows), the lightest in Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), the Ussuri region, and California. Adult bulls are on average 30-60% heavier than cows. Large-sized deer with a large, pale rump patch extending into the croup, a short tail, and a six-tined antler plan. The color patterns of the coat and especially of the rump patch vary by subspecies. In the primitive “Alashan Wapiti” (alashanicus) the rump patch is white below and yellow-brown above, dorsally bisected by a dark stripe and laterally bordered by a dark rim that fades out in the upper portion; the tail is white and dark. In the other primitive subspecies, the “Izubra Wapiti” (xanthopygus) the rump patch is ...