| Alashan wapiti | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Genus: | Cervus |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | C. c. alashanicus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Cervus canadensis alashanicus (Bobrinskii & Flerov, 1935) | |
The Alashan wapiti (Cervus canadensis alashanicus) is an Asian subspecies of wapiti ( Cervus canadensis ), or elk as they are called in North America.
The Alashan wapiti is found in pockets of Northern China and Mongolia. [1] The Alashan wapiti is the smallest subspecies of wapiti and has the lightest coat color. It is the least-studied subspecies of wapiti, with little formal research having been conducted; this is partially due to the deer’s vast, remote distribution over frequently inaccessible terrain, as well as smaller, fragmented overall populations. [2]
This subspecies of wapiti may be synonymous with the Manchurian wapiti (C. c. xanthopygus) as found in a 2004 study on the genetics of the red deer (Cervus elaphus). [3]
