This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
The Tian Shan wapiti or Tian Shan maral (Cervus canadensis songaricus), is a subspecies of C. canadensis. It is also called the Tian Shan elk in North American English.
| Tian Shan wapiti | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Cervinae |
| Genus: | Cervus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | C. c. songaricus
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Cervus canadensis songaricus | |
Description edit
It is native to the Tian Shan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, southeastern Kazakhstan, and North Central Xinjiang of western China. It is the largest subspecies of Asian wapiti, both in body size and antlers.
As a grazing animal, they play an important role in the ecosystem. On the one hand they maintain vegetation growth, and on the other hand are the main food source for predators such as wolves, snow leopards and brown bears.[2]
Conservation edit
Around 50,000 individual Tian Shan elk are left in the wild, and they are declining at a rapid rate. China has about 4000 to 5000 individuals in deer farms.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Erxleben, J. C. P. (1777). Anfangsgründe der Naturlehre and Systema regni animalis.
- ^ "Tian Shan Maral". camcaproject.org.
.png){kind=small} | This article about an even-toed ungulate is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |