Rangifer tarandus

• 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; Rangifer; Rangifer tarandus; Svalbard; Kerguelen; Okhotsk; Norway; Indian; Renne; Reno; Kamchatka; karelia*; Sakhalin; Alaska; Beringia; Lapland; ren; renne; Siberia
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6514555; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6514555

35. Caribou Rangifer tarandus French: Renne / German: Ren / Spanish: Reno Other common names: Reindeer (in Europe) Taxonomy. Cervus tarandus Linnaeus, 1758, Lapland, Sweden. The oldest evidence of the genus Rangifer dates back to the late Pliocene, about two million years ago, in Alaska. “Reindeer” were present in Siberia and Central Europe from the Middle Pleistocene, about 650,000 years ago. The analysis of mtDNA revealed three main haplogroups, possibly representing three separate populations during the last glacial period. The main population lived in Siberia and Beringia and has contributed to the gene pool of all the extant subspecies. One small refugial population supposedly lived in Western Europe and the other in eastern North America. The word caribou derives from the Micmac Indian term “xalibu,” which means “pawer,” “shoveller,” in reference to the habit of digging snow for obtaining food. Taxonomists are not concordant on the number of subspecies. Here ten subspecies are recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. R.t.tarandusLinnaeus,1758—Norway. R.t.caribouGmelin,1788—SCanada(fromSYukontoLabradorandNewfoundland)andNWUSA(NEWashington,NIdaho&WMontana). R.t.fennicusLonnberg,1909—FinlandandNWRussia(Karelia). R.t.groenlandicusLinnaeus,1767—Alaska,NCanada,WGreenland. R.t.pearsoniLydekker,1903—NovayaZemlya(Russia). R.t.pearyiJ.A.Allen,1902—CanadianArcticIs. R. t. phylarchus Hollister, 1912 — Russian Far East (Amur region, Okhotsk area, Sakhalin, Kamchatka). R.t.platyrhynchusVrolik,1829—Svalbard(Norway). R.t.sibiricusMurray,1866—NSiberiantundra,RussianArcticIs. R. t. valentinae Flerov, 1933 — Ural Mts (Russia), Altai Mts, Mongolia. Feral Icelandic population originated from animals introduced from Norway in 1771; they have been introduced also into South Georgia Is (in 1911-1912 and 1925) and Kerguelen Is (in 1955). Descriptive notes. Head-body 185-210 cm for males (bulls) and 170-195 cm for females (cows), tail 14-16 cm, shoulder height 90-135 cm (bulls) and 70-100 cm (cows); post-rutting weight 65-170 ...