Transcript cervidae
Hoofed Animals Follow along with your chart and make any additions or corrections that you may need. (If you need a replacement chart, tell the teacher now!) Remember that you will be allowed to utilize this resource during the exam. The deer family is cervidae. If the family is anything other than cervidae, it is not in the deer family. Black-tailed Deer Young Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Odocoileus Doe and fawn Species: columbianus Found in Dimorphism: the Pacific Northwest, Sexual especially in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Native to North America Buck : only males grow antlers Preferred Habitat: Forests and edge Feeding: Blacktails are browsers in winter and early spring and then mix in grasses and a wide variety of herbs, as well as browse, in summer and fall. Breeding: Blacktails are polygamous. They use scent to locate each other during the breeding period. Males tend to follow one female at a time until breeding occurs or a larger male comes along and displaces them. Distinguishing Features: -Smallest of the three native deer species (mule, blacktailed, white-tailed). - Antlers in forked pairs, like mule deer. - Almost no rump patch with wide, black-surfaced tail. - Light face and muzzle but forehead not dark. - When startled will run with high, stiff-legged bounce. Mule Deer Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Odocoileus Species: hemionus Found throughout the entire western United States, including the four deserts of the American Southwest . Native to North America Buck Doe Preferred Habitat: Brushy vegetation Fawn Feeding: Mule Deer are browsers and eat a great variety of vegetable matter, including fresh green leaves, twigs, lower branches of trees, and various grasses. Breeding: Mule deer are polygamous. They use scent to determine when females are ready for breeding. Males may gather groups of females during peek breeding season and fight to defend the group. Distinguishing Features: - Large ears that move constantly (like a mule) - Peculiar and distinctive bounding leap - Dark forehead marking - Antlers in forked pairs on males only Sika Deer – often called “Asian Elk” Preferred Habitat: Forests or Marshy terrains Cows or Hinds Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Cervus Species: nippon Bull or Stag They are inhabitants of Japan and live naturally throughout eastern Asia, including parts of Korea, Siberia, China, Vietnam, Taiwan. They have been introduced in New Zealand, Europe, Australia, and several US states, including Maryland, Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Feeding: Some sika deer are considered grazers while others are browsers. It depends on the geographic location. Sika deer feed on plants, grasses, marsh vegetation and agricultural crops. Calves Breeding: Males are polygamous and gather harems of females during the breeding season. They use a “bugling” call and scent to attract females and defend their territory/harem. Distinguishing Features: - Antlers sweep backward (males only) - Maintain spots into adulthood - Flare a white rump patch when alarmed - Males have a dark mane during the rut Rocky Mountain Elk – also called “Wapiti” Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Cervus Species: elaphus Bull with 3 Cows Today, about one million elk live in the western United States, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, and from Ontario west in Canada Elk are native to North America Preferred Habitat: Woodlands with large open areas Feeding: Elk are grazers. Elk prefer grass, but regularly feed on shrub and browse species during winter months. Bulls in velvet Breeding: Elk are polygamous. Males use “bugling” vocalizations and scent to attract a harem of females during the breeding season. They will fight to defend their harem. Bull bugling Distinguishing Features: - Much larger than deer or caribou. Second largest member of the deer family. Calf - Large, cream colored rump patch - Both sexes have upper canine teeth called “ivories”. - Males antlers sweep gracefully back over the shoulders In North America, the moose range includes almost all of Canada (excluding the arctic), most of Alaska, northern New England and upstate New York, the Rocky Mountains, northeastern Minnesota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Moose Moose are native to North America Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Alces Species: alces Bull Preferred Habitat: Boreal forests & wetlands Feeding: Moose are browsers. During fall and winter, moose consume large quantities of willow, birch, and aspen twigs. During summer, moose feed on vegetation in shallow ponds and the leaves of birch, willow, and aspen. Cow with calf Breeding: Moose are polygamous. The bull moose will wallow in his own urine during the breeding season. The scent attracts females. The bulls and the cows both make vocalizations to attract each other during breeding season. Distinguishing Features: -Largest member of the deer family -Long legs -Hump at the front shoulder blades -Flap of skin on the neck called a dewlap or “bell” (Both sexes) -Large palmate antlers on the males only -Long nose with a drooping lip Bull moose Caribou – also called Reindeer Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Rangifer Species: tarandus Bulls Caribou are found in northern regions of North America, Europe, Asia, and Greenland. They are Native to North America. Preferred Habitat: Old conifer forests & tundra Distinguishing Features: - Caribou have large, concave hoofs used as snowshoes, paddles, and shovels. - Caribou are the only member of the deer family in which both sexes grow antlers. Antlers of adult bulls are large and massive; those of adult cows are much shorter and are usually more slender and irregular. Bull Bulls grow palmate surfaces and a shovel between the eyes. These features do not appear on the female’s antlers. Cow Feeding: Caribou are grazing herbivores. In summer, caribou eat the leaves of willows, sedges (grasslike plants), flowering tundra plants, and mushrooms. They switch to lichens, dried sedges and small shrubs for winter. Breeding: Caribou are polygamous. Bull caribou control a space around themselves, and prevent other bulls from breeding with females within their space. Caribou breeding season lasts for only one week. Scent is important to the caribou during their breeding season.