Schomburgk deer
| Schomburgk deer | ||||||||||||
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Schomburgk deer in Berlin Zoo , photo from 1911. |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rucervus schomburgki | ||||||||||||
| ( Blyth , 1863) |
The Schomburgk deer ( Rucervus schomburgki , Syn . : Cervus schomburgki ) is an extinct species of mammal from the deer family (Cervidae). He lived in Thailand and is named after Robert Hermann Schomburgk , a German explorer and later Consul General in Siam.
features
Schomburgk deer had a brown fur , the underside being lighter, the legs and forehead were reddish brown in color. It had very branched, multi-ended antlers. The head body length of these animals was around 1.8 meters, the shoulder height 104 centimeters and the weight 100 to 120 kilograms.
Distribution and way of life
This deer inhabited wetlands in southern central Thailand, especially in the Mae Nam Chao Phraya valley ( Chao Phraya River ). It may also have been used in Laos and southern China ( Yunnan ) earlier . He avoided areas with too dense vegetation. At times of high water, he took refuge on small islands that protruded from the water.
He was probably nocturnal and lived in groups that consisted of a male, several females and the common offspring. Its diet consisted of grasses and other plants.
The extermination
With the large-scale conversion of the wetlands into rice-growing areas from the 19th century, the habitat of the Schomburgk deer was increasingly restricted. In addition, there was the hunting of the animals, which was very easy, especially in times of high tide, when groups fled to small islands. In 1932 the last wild Schomburg deer was shot, in 1938 the last specimen kept in a zoo died.
Since then, several search expeditions in Thailand have been unsuccessful. In 1991, the news that a market in Laos was selling antlers from an animal shot the previous year, which may have belonged to a Schomburgk deer, caused a stir . Some zoologists therefore believe that the expeditions were looking in the wrong place and that the species could still live in northern Laos.
The IUCN lists the species as extinct.
Systematics
Grzimek's animal life called it a subspecies of the Barasingha , but this is unlikely because of the remote distribution area and clear morphological differences. Together with the barasingha and the lyre deer , it forms the genus of the ragged deer ( Rucervus ), which earlier was partially placed in the genus of the noble deer ( Cervus ).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ GB Schroering and Gary J. Galbreath. 2019. Evidence of Late Survival of Schomburgk's Deer Rucervus schomburgki in Central Laos. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS). 116. DOI: 10.17087 / jbnhs / 2019 / v116 / 142873
Web links
- Distribution map and further information
- Rucervus schomburgki in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Deer Specialist Group, 1996. Accessed on 30/11/2006.