Taxonomic Revision of Variation in Skull Morphology of Siberian Roe Deer (Capreolus pygargus, Pallas, 1771) in South Korea1

Various branching patterns of the aortic arch in the Siberian roe deer (<i>Capreolus pygargus</i>, Pallas, 1771) on Jeju Island

“…In the Republic of Korea, the Siberian roe deer lives on the Korean peninsula and Jeju Island, and is considered a subspecies of Siberian roe deer, Capreolus pygargus tianschanicus Satunin, 1906 [5] or Capreolus pygargus bedifordi Thomas, 1908 [9]. However, several recent genetic and morphological studies have suggested that the roe deer on Jeju Island (Jeju roe deer [JRD]) is different from the roe deer on the Korean peninsula (mainland roe deer [MRD]) [13, 15, 16, 19,20,21]. The JRD has a smaller body and skull than the MRD [19,20,21] and is genetically more similar to populations in western Siberia than those in the Far East [13, 15, 16].…”

“…However, several recent genetic and morphological studies have suggested that the roe deer on Jeju Island (Jeju roe deer [JRD]) is different from the roe deer on the Korean peninsula (mainland roe deer [MRD]) [13, 15, 16, 19,20,21]. The JRD has a smaller body and skull than the MRD [19,20,21] and is genetically more similar to populations in western Siberia than those in the Far East [13, 15, 16]. Therefore, the possibility that the JRD belongs to the subspecies Capreolus pygargus ochracean , not C. p. tianschanicus , has been suggested [13].…”

“…Therefore, the possibility that the JRD belongs to the subspecies Capreolus pygargus ochracean , not C. p. tianschanicus , has been suggested [13]. Moreover, the JRD has been proposed as a new subspecies [19, 21]. However, this opinion has not been accepted officially so far, likely due to insufficient morphometric data on structures other than the skull in JRD, and because the classification of deer subspecies has not been officially certified.…”

Intraspecific variation of the interparietal suture closure in Siberian roe deer <i>Capreolus pygargus</i> from Jeju Island

“…There was no significant correlation between degree of suture closure and skull size among adults ( r =−0.05, P =0.87). Minimum and maximum total cranial length of 12 specimens used in this analysis is 178.23 and 193.81, all of which were adults with fully-erupted dentition [ 11 ].…”

“…To date, considerable morphological and genetic variation among populations of C. pygargus has been recognized [ 19 , 20 , 24 ]. Especially, the population of Jeju Island, which is isolated from the Korean peninsula, is for sure genetically and morphologically distinct from other populations [ 8 , 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”