The updated statistical methods were used to study the geographical variability of European and Siberian roe deer in 16 different areas. The differences between various roe deer populations were obtained according to comparison of animal size, skull and antlers proportions of pubescent individuals. We have determined, that morphological differences between European and Siberian roe deer are more profound than those between Siberian roe deer populations. The. results of hybridization experiments proved physiological and ethological reproductive isolation of European and Siberian roe deer. Observations in open-air cage enabled us to deduce some specific (important from systematization point of view) differences in sexual behaviour and acoustic communication of European and Siberian roe deer. The obtained results enable one to conclude that European and Siberian roe deer are individual species. The European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) is presumably a monotypic species. Populations of Siberian roe deers (Capreolus pygargus p all.) are devided into the three detatched subspecies : C.p. pygargus, C.p. tianschanicus and C.p. mantschuricus (= bedfordi).Resume. -La variabilite geographique des chevreuüs d'Europe et de Siberie a ete etudiee de fagon statistique dans 16 regions differentes. Les differences entre les populations concernent la taille, les proportions du cräne et des bois chez les individus en velours. Les differences morphologiques entre les populations d'Europe et de Siberie sont plus importantes que celles qui existent entre les populations de Siberie. Des experiences d'hybridation ont mis en evidence risoiement du chevreuil siberien et du chevreuil europeen, notamment en ce qui concerne la physiologic et l'ethologie de la reproduction. Des observations effectuees dans des pares ä l'air libre ont permis de deduire certaines differences de comportement sexuel et de communication acoustique ; les resultats obtenus permettent de conclure que les chevreuils d'Europe et de Siberie appartiennent ä deux especes distinctes.Le chevreuil d'Europe, Capreolus capreolus L., est probablement une espece monotypique. Par contre les populations de chevreuils de Siberie (Capreolus pygargus Pall.) se repartissent en trois sous-especes : C.p. pygargus, C.p. tianschanicus et C.p. mantschuricus (= bedfordi). Mammalia, t. 54, n° 3, 1990.

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There are two types of complex social units — aggregations and family groups — in rodent populations, with an essential difference in their social organization. The impact of ecological factors on the evolution of sociality in rodents (the transition from solitary towards family-group lifestyle) is still unclear. The inter-specific comparative analysis based on quantification of social traits related to the spatial-and-ethological population structure and cooperation allows author to propose a new conceptual approach to the assessment of differences between the species under consideration in terms of the evolution of sociality. A new conceptual model of the evolution of sociality in rodents should incorporate ecological conditions and social factors, including cooperation, operating as a complex of selective forces promoting formation of family groups.

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