''Dama'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...
in the subfamily
Cervinae
The Cervinae or the Old World deer, are a subfamily of deer. Alternatively, they are known as the plesiometacarpal deer, due to their ankle structure being different from the telemetacarpal deer of the Capreolinae.
Classification and species
Th ...
, commonly referred to as fallow deer.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's
pale brown colour. The
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word ''dāma'' or ''damma'', used for
roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
,
gazelles
A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus ''Gazella'' . This article also deals with the seven species included in two further genera, ''Eudorcas'' and ''Nanger'', which were formerly considered subgenera of ''Gazella''. A third ...
, and
antelopes
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammal ...
, lies at the root of the modern scientific name, as well as the German ''Damhirsch'', French ''daim'', Dutch ''damhert'', and Italian ''daino''. In Croatian and Serbian, the name for the fallow deer is ''jelen lopatar'' ("shovel deer"), due to the form of its antlers. The Modern Hebrew name of the fallow deer is ''yachmur'' (יחמור).
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus includes two extant species:
Extant species
Some taxonomists include the
Persian fallow deer
The Persian fallow deer (''Dama mesopotamica'') is a deer species once native to all of the Middle East, but currently only living in Iran and Israel. It was reintroduced in Israel. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 200 ...
as a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
(''D. d. mesopotamica''),
while others, such as the
IUCN, treat it as a different species (''D. mesopotamica'').
References
Cervines
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