The Manchurian wapiti (''Cervus canadensis xanthopygus'') is a subspecies of the

wapiti The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

native to

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

Description

The Manchurian wapiti's coat is reddish brown during summer, and brownish gray in winter. It has dark hairs on the neck and dark underparts, followed by a light-colored rump patch. It is smaller than North American elk (''Cervus canadensis canadensis'') with smaller and stouter

antlers Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

. Male deer are wapiti-like with a neck mane, and as mentioned, relatively small wapiti-like antlers. Female deer are more red deer-like and lack neck manes. This deer is the most ''red deer-like'' of the wapiti, being adapted to mixed deciduous forest environments in Manchuria, Yakutia, Northern China and North Korea. Like many

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

, adult deer may have some visible spots in their summer coats. Cows weigh and bulls weigh , and bulls attain measurements of 1.5m in height and 2.4m in length.

Range

This deer is found in southeastern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

(to the east of

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal (, russian: Oзеро Байкал, Ozero Baykal ); mn, Байгал нуур, Baigal nuur) is a rift lake in Russia. It is situated in southern Siberia, between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Repu ...

), northeastern

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

and northeastern

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 ...

. Similar forms from Alxa,

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

and southern Mongolia were originally described as a distinct subspecies, the

Alashan wapiti The Alashan wapiti is a subspecies of ''Cervus canadensis'' (named " elk" or "wapiti" in North America), found in northern China and Mongolia. It is the smallest subspecies of elk, has the lightest color, and is the least studied, other than the ...

(''Cervus canadensis alashanicus''). However recent genetic research indicates that this deer belongs to the Manchurian subspecies.''Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of red deer (Cervus elaphus)'', by Christian J. Ludt. In ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' 31 (2004), p. 1064–1083
Online copy

References

Elk and red deer Mammals of Siberia Mammals of Korea Mammals of China Mammals of Mongolia {{eventoedungulate-stub