Schomburgk's Deer
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Schomburgk's deer (''Rucervus schomburgki'') is an extinct species of deer once
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
central Thailand Central Thailand (Central Plain) (historically also known as Siam or Dvaravati) is one of the regions of Thailand, covering the broad alluvial plain of the Chao Phraya River. It is separated from northeast Thailand (Isan) by the Phetchabun Mount ...
. It was described by
Edward Blyth Edward Blyth (23 December 1810 – 27 December 1873) was an English zoologist who worked for most of his life in India as a curator of zoology at the Asiatic Society, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta. He set about updating the museum ...
in 1863 and named after Sir Robert H. Schomburgk, who was the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
consul in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
from 1857 to 1864. It is thought to have gone extinct by 1938, when the last records of the species were published.


Description

This deer was similar in appearance to the related
barasingha The barasingha (''Rucervus duvaucelii''), sometimes barasinghe, also known as the swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. Populations in northern and central India are fragmented, and two isolated populations occu ...
(''R. duvaucelii''). The pelt was a dark brown with lighter underparts. The underside of the tail was white. Males possessed basket-like antlers, upon which all the main tines branched. This caused the deer to have up to 33 points on their antlers and the outer edge of the rack to be up to long. Little is known about females of the species, beyond that they did not have antlers.


Habitat

Schomburgk's deer inhabited swampy plains with long grass, cane, and shrubs in central Thailand, particularly in the
Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...
valley near Bangkok. This deer avoided dense vegetation. They lived in herds that consisted of a single adult male, a few females, and their young. However, during the flooding that occurred during the rainy season, the herds were forced together upon higher pieces of land which could turn into islands. This made them easy targets for hunters.


Extinction

Commercial production of rice for export began in the late-19th century in Thailand, leading to the loss of nearly all grassland and swamp areas on which this deer depended. Intensive hunting pressure at the turn of the century restricted the species further until it became extinct. The wild population of Schomburgk's deer is thought to have died out because of overhunting by 1932, with the last captive individual, an animal living at a temple in Samut Sakhon, being killed in 1938 by a drunk man. The species was listed as extinct in the 2006
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...
, however some scientists consider this species to still be extant. Evidence for the continued survival of the Schomburgk's deer came in February of 1991 when Laurent Chazée, an
agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...
with the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, photographed a set of antlers on display in a Chinese medicine shop, located in the Phongsali province of
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
. Given the antlers' unique, basket-like shape, Chazée identified them as belonging to a Schomburgk's deer, and further analysis of the antlers through Chazée's photos showed they had come from a recently killed animal. Only one mounted specimen is known to exist, which currently resides in the
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...
in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, after living in a zoo there until 1868.


See also

* List of extinct animals of Asia


References


External links


The Extinction Website - Species Info - Schomburgk's DeerIUCN Red List of Threatened Species: ''Cervus schomburgki''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q749836 Mammals of Thailand Extinct mammals of Asia Mammal extinctions since 1500 Cervines Species made extinct by human activities Endemic fauna of Thailand Mammals described in 1863 Taxa named by Edward Blyth Species that are or were threatened by habitat loss