The mainland serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis'') is a serow species native to the Himalayas, Southeast Asia and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The mainland serow is related closely to the red serow, Himalayan serow, Sumatran serow, and the Chinese serow (''C. milneedwardsii)''.

Taxonomy

In 1831, Brian Houghton Hodgson first described a goat-like animal with short annulated horns occurring in montane regions between the

Sutlej The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...

and Teesta Rivers under the name "Bubaline Antelope". As "Bubaline" was preoccupied, he gave it the

scientific name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Antelope thar'' a few months later. When William Ogilby described the genus '' Capricornis'' in 1838, he determined the Himalayan serow as type species of this genus. Teeth from ''C. sumatraensis'' were found in a dig from Khok Sung, estimated to originate from the Middle Pleistocene.

Characteristics

The mainland serow possesses guard hairs on its coat that are bristly or coarse and cover the layer of fur closest to its skin to varying degrees. The animal has a mane that runs from the horns to the middle of the dorsal aspect of the animal between the scapulae covering the skin. The horns are only characteristic of the males and are light-colored, approximately six inches in length, and curve slightly towards the animal's back. The mainland serow, both male and female, is around three feet high at the shoulder, and typically weighs around 200 pounds.

Distribution and habitat

The Himalayan serow inhabits hilly forests above an elevation of , but descends to in winter. It prefers elevations of in the Himalayas. The mainland serow is found in central and southern

, Vietnam, Cambodia,

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, Thailand, and in Indonesian Islands of

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

. Its distribution follows forested mountain ranges. The mainland serow inhabits steep, rugged hills up to an elevation of . It prefers rocky terrain but is also found in forests and flat areas. It is able to swim to small offshore islands. This species has a moderate level of tolerance to human disturbance, and could persist well in habitat fragments and secondary forests, though avoiding farmlands.

Behaviour and ecology

The mainland serow is territorial and lives alone or in small groups. Females give birth to a single young after a gestation period of about eight months.

Conservation

The mainland serow is protected under CITES Appendix I.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q10593990, from2=Q431337 mainland serow Mammals of Indonesia Mammals of Nepal Mammals of Thailand Mammals of China Mammals of Bhutan Mammals of Malaysia Fauna of Southeast Asia mainland serow