| Selkirk Mountains caribou | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Selkirk Mountains caribou on Idaho in 2007 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Genus: | Rangifer |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | R. t. montanus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Rangifer tarandus montanus (Seton, 1899) | |
The Selkirk Mountains caribou (Rangifer tarandus montanus) is a subspecies of caribou that inhabits British Columbia.
Rangifer montanus was the scientific name used by Ernest Thompson Seton for a bull from the Illecillewaet watershed in 1899. [1]
The western montane caribou (R. t. fortidens, R. t. montanus, and R. t. osborni) were considered ecotypes of woodland caribou, but they originate from two distinct lineages, the Euro-Beringian (BEL) and North American (NAL) lineages respectively. [2]
The cervid family first appears in the fossil record during the Miocene, and the subfamily Capreolinae between 7.7 and 11.5 million years ago, in Central Asia. [3] The Rangifer lineage originated during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene in North America. [4]
About 70,000 years ago, a lineage of reindeer divided into the BEL and NAL lineages. The BEL lineage is the more diverse of the two and expanded to North America from Beringia around 8,000 years ago, while the NAL lineage evolved south of the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. [5] DNA evidence suggests that Selkirk Mountains caribou from the Columbia North population had no admixture with NAL populations. [6]
The Selkirk Mountains caribou is a large subspecies of caribou, about the same size of Osborn's caribou. [8] Bulls' fur in autumn is blackish brown throughout most of the body, with some individuals having black from the hind of the withers to the rump. [9] The lower body, flanks, and shoulders are a lighter colour while the neck is greyish white. [10] Cows have pure white lips and darker fur compared to bulls. [11]
The antlers are shorter than those of Osborn's caribou and are similar to those of boreal woodland caribou and Newfoundland caribou, but are lighter and more slender than those of the latter subspecies. [12]
On average, bulls have a body length of 86 in (7.2 ft), while cows are about 79.5 in (6.63 ft) long. Cows have a tail measuring around 7.5 in (19 cm), longer than bull's tails, which are about 7 in (18 cm) long. Caribou up to 600 lb (270 kg) have been reported. [13]
Currently, the Selkirk Mountains caribou is found solely in British Columbia. Around the time of Seton's description, they may have ranged southwards to the Cascade Range in Oregon. [14]