The contemporary ideas on roe deer (Capreolus Gray, 1821) systematization : morphological, ethological and hybridological analysis

Abstract

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.

Mitochondrial DNA Distinction of Northeastern China Roe Deer, Siberian Roe Deer, and European Roe Deer, to Clarify the Taxonomic Status of Northeastern China Roe Deer

“…Both in phylogenetic and network analyses, haplotypes of Korean roe deer share the same clade with haplotypes of northeastern China roe deer, suggesting that besides being geographically adjacent, the two local populations indeed have a close relationship at the level of molecular evolutionary history. In fact, Sokolov and Gromov (1990) stated that there were three distinct subspecies representing Siberian roe deer, i.e., C. p. pygargus from west and part of east Siberia, C. p. tienschanicus from Tien Shan, and C. p. manchuricus from far east Asia, including northeastern China and maybe Korea, and they believed roe deer from the far east should be kept distinct from the other Siberian roe deer populations.…”

“…In Europe, roe deer are described as two species: the smaller European (Capreolus capreolus; Linnaeus, 1758) and the larger Siberian (Capreolus pygargus; Pallas, 1777) roe deer (Groves and Grubb, 1987;Hewison and Danilkin, 2001;Sokolov and Gromov, 1990;Randi et al, 1998;Wilson and Reeder, 1993). The European roe deer is distributed in Europe into west Russia (Belorussia, Ukraine, Crimea, Trans-Caucasus), and the Siberian roe deer is widespread in the southern Ural and northern Caucasus Mountains (Russia), southeastern and eastern Kazakhstan, Tien Shan, and southern Siberia (Russia) eastward to the Pacific coast, northern and central China, northern Mongolia, and Korea (Wilson and Reeder, 1993).…”

“…The European roe deer is distributed in Europe into west Russia (Belorussia, Ukraine, Crimea, Trans-Caucasus), and the Siberian roe deer is widespread in the southern Ural and northern Caucasus Mountains (Russia), southeastern and eastern Kazakhstan, Tien Shan, and southern Siberia (Russia) eastward to the Pacific coast, northern and central China, northern Mongolia, and Korea (Wilson and Reeder, 1993). The two species of roe deer show a number of diagnostic morphologic, chromosomal, and DNA traits, and most hybrid males obtained in captivity were sterile (Sokolov and Gromov, 1990). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and the available fossil record suggest that Siberian and European roe deer separated at the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary and have evolved independently for about 2-3 million years (Randi et al, 1998).…”

Mitochondrial DNA polymorphism in populations of Siberian and European roe deer (Capreolus pygargus and C. capreolus)

“…Two polytypic species are recognized: the larger Siberian (C. pygargus Pallas, 1777) and the smaller European roe deer (C. capreolus Linnaeus, 1758) (Groves & Grubb, 1987;Grubb, 1993). They have different body sizes, morphometric traits and karyotypes, and most hybrid males obtained in captivity were sterile (Sokolov & Gromov, 1990;Danilkin, 1996). Although their genetic divergence has not been investigated, their allopatric distributions, with possible narrow areas of parapatric contact around the banks of the rivers Volga and lower Don in Russia (Heptner et al, 1989), and their fossil record of late Pleistocene age (Heptner et al, 1989) suggest that the species of roe deer are recent and closely related.…”

“…Roe deer populations show wide morphological, ethological and ecological variability (Sokolov & Gromov, 1990;Danilkin, 1996). Noteworthy, for example, is the presence of sympatric sedentary and migrating populations in Siberia (Danilkin, 1996).…”