Alces | |
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Moose (Alces alces) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Cervidae |
Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
Tribe: | Alceini |
Genus: | Alces Gray, 1821 |
Type species | |
Alces alces | |
Species | |
Alces is a genus of artiodactyl mammals, that includes the largest species of the deer family. [1] There are two species in genus: the moose (Alces alces) and the fossil Alces gallicus (also known as the Gallic moose), that existed in the Pleistocene about 2 million years ago. Sometimes only one species is included in the genus, the modern moose (Alces alces), and the extinct Gallic moose is more often referred to the genus Cervalces , since the structure of their antlers looks similar. [2]
Sometimes the species Alces alces is divided into two separate species - European and American moose (A. americanus). [3] The American moose, contrary to it's name, includes all subspecies of moose, except European and Caucasian moose, which belong to the European moose. The presence of two modern species in the genus remains controversial. These animals are often divided into two species because American and Asian subspecies have greater presence of chromosomes, than European subspecies - they have 68 of them, and "American moose" subspecies has 70. [4] [5]
The moose or elk is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus Alces. It is also the tallest, and the second-largest, land animal in North America, falling short only of the American bison in body mass. Most adult male moose have broad, palmate antlers; other members of the deer family have pointed antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose inhabit the circumpolar boreal forests or temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere, thriving in cooler, temperate areas as well as subarctic climates.
The subfamily Caprinae, also sometimes referred to as the tribe Caprini, is part of the ruminant family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine.
Elaeophora is a genus of parasitic nematodes which live attached to the interior surfaces of major arteries, veins and/or heart chambers in various large mammal hosts. Infestation with Elaeophora species is referred to as elaeophorosis. The species of Elaeophora have been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Despite the fact that they produce aneurysms in the arteries and heart of their hosts which measure up to 2 cm in diameter, overt clinical symptoms of infestation are seldom reported, with the notable exception of E. schneideri infestation in sheep, elk, and moose.
The Caucasian moose, also known as the Caucasian elk is an extinct subspecies of moose found in the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor, in modern-day European Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and eastern Turkey and north and west iran.
The elk, or wapiti, is the second largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The word "elk" originally referred to the European variety of the moose, Alces alces, but was transferred to Cervus canadensis by North American colonists.
Cervalces scotti, also known as stag-moose, is an extinct species of large deer that lived in North America during the Late Pleistocene epoch. It is the only known North American member of the genus Cervalces. Its closest living relative is the modern moose.
The Capreolinae, Odocoileinae, or the New World deer are a subfamily of deer. Alternatively, they are known as the telemetacarpal deer, due to their bone structure being different from the plesiometacarpal deer subfamily Cervinae. The telemetacarpal deer maintain their distal lateral metacarpals, while the plesiometacarpal deer maintain only their proximal lateral metacarpals. The Capreolinae are believed to have originated in the Middle Miocene, between 7.7 and 11.5 million years ago, in Central Asia.
A. americanus may refer to:
There are at least 14 large mammal and 50 small mammal species known to occur in Glacier National Park.
The Kenai Peninsula wolf, also known as the Kenai Peninsula grey wolf, is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that lived on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska.
The Alberta–British Columbia foothills forests are a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of Western Canada, as defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system. This ecoregion borders Canada's taiga and contains a mix of subarctic forest and temperate forest species as a result. This makes the region an ecotone region, or a region that acts as a buffer between two other biomes.
The South Central Rockies forests is a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the United States located mainly in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. It has a considerably drier climate than the North Central Rockies forest.
The Alaska moose, or Alaskan moose in Alaska, or giant moose and Yukon moose in Canada, is a subspecies of moose that ranges from Alaska to western Yukon. The Alaska moose is the largest subspecies of moose. Alaska moose inhabit boreal forests and mixed deciduous forests throughout most of Alaska and most of Western Yukon. Like all moose subspecies, the Alaska moose is usually solitary but sometimes will form small herds. Typically, they only come into contact with other moose for mating or competition for mates. Males and females select different home ranges during different seasons. This leads to spatial segregation throughout much of the year. While males and females are spatially separate the habitat that they occupy is not significantly different. During mating season, in autumn and winter, male Alaska moose become very aggressive and prone to attacking when startled.
There are at least 9 large terrestrial mammals, 50 small mammals, and 14 marine mammal species known to occur in Olympic National Park.
Cervalces latifrons, the broad-fronted moose, or the giant moose was a giant species of deer that inhabited Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch. It is thought to be the ancestor of the modern moose, as well as the extinct North American Cervalces scotti. It was considerably larger than living moose, placing it as one of the largest deer to have ever lived.