vovatower.blogg.se

soloensis, Southern Philippines (anciently introduced to Jolo island of unknown subspecies origin, probably extinct) nippon, southern Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu mantchuricus, northeastern China, Korea, and Russian Far East mandarinus, northern and northeastern China keramae, Kerama Islands of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan hortulorum is particularly uncertain and might in fact be of mixed origin, hence it is not listed here.

Serious genetic pollution has occurred in many populations, especially in China, so the status of many subspecies remains unclear. All Cervus species can crossbreed and produce hybrids in areas where they coexist (for example, introduced sika hybridize with native red deer in the Scottish Highlands, where this is a serious threat to the gene pool of the red deer population). The ancestor of all Cervus species probably originated in central Asia and resembled sika deer. The genera Rucervus, Rusa, and Przewalskium are where most of the former Cervus species now belong. Recent DNA evidence indicates these deer are not as closely related as previously thought, resulting in the creation of new species and genera. Now, only the sika and red deer remain, the latter being divided into three separate species: European red deer, central Asian red deer, and American elk (though this remains controversial). Formerly, sika were grouped together in this genus with nine other species. The sika deer is a member of the genus Cervus, a group of deer also known as the "true deer". In Chinese, it is known as 梅花鹿 méihuā​lù 'plum blossom deer'. In Japan, the species is known as the nihonjika ( ニホンジカ (日本鹿), "Japan deer"). Its name comes from shika ( 鹿), the Japanese word for "deer". Previously found from northern Vietnam in the south to the Russian Far East in the north, it is now uncommon except in Japan, where the species is overabundant. The sika deer ( Cervus nippon), also known as the Northern spotted deer or the Japanese deer, is a species of deer native to much of East Asia and introduced to other parts of the world.