Tag: family

Cervidae

Cervidae family (deer) here red deer

Cervidae (the deer family)

Cervidae is the family of deer. It is a close relation of Bovidae, which includes antelopes and giraffe.

There are 2 branches of this family Cervinae (Old World deer) and Capreolinae  (New World  deer). They will be linked from the images.

The first tribe in Cervini is Munticini

Munticini includes just 2 genus

Genus Elaphodus contains just one species, that of the Tufted deer

 

Genus Muntiacus contains 12 species, all of the worlds Muntjac species (the moschidae family)

Bornean yellow muntjac
Fea's muntjac
Giant muntjac (large antlered muntjac
Gongshan muntjac
Hairy-fronted or black-fronted muntjac
Leaf muntjac
Southern red muntjac, or malabar red muntjac (also Indian or Malabar muntjac) Many subspecies
Northern red muntjac
Pu hot muntjac
Reeves or chinese muntjac photo credit rufus46
Roosevelt muntjacs - camera trap in xuan luen reserve credit xuan lien reserve
Truong Son muntjac
Sumatran muntjac

The other (2nd) tribe is Cervini (true deers) and includes 7 genus some of these only have a few species so will be dealt with together.

In the first group we will include:

Genus Ruserus (1 species), Genus Panolia (1 species), Genus Elaphurus (1 species), Geuns Dama (2 species) in that order.

barasinghe swamp deer
Eld's deer
Pere davids deer
European fallow deer
Persian fallow deer

and now just one genus on each set

Genus Axis

Bawean deer or Kuhl's deer
Calamian deer
Chital, spotted deer, or axis deer
Hog deer

Genus Cervus

Red deer
elk
sika deer
Central asian red deer
Thoroids deer

Gens Rusa

Javan rusa 7 subspecies
Philippine deer
Sambar deer
Visayan spotted deer

Capreolinae  which is the new world sub-family of deer. This includes 3 tribes of deer

Tribe Capreolini which includes 2 genus

Genus Capreolus (2 species) and Genus Hydropotes  (1 species) (pictures in this order)

Also Tribe Alcenini which includes one Genus Alces with just one speices – the elk

I should note, that while the deer below this point may well get their own page in time, for now, they will have a little information added to their title popup.

 

Eastern (asian or siberian) roe deer - it is found in north-eastern Asia. Once thought to be the same species as the European roe it is no longer. It is not threatened and has 2 subspecies
western roe deer (roe deer, or European roe deer) Natively found throughout most of Europe. They are common, (Uk has around half a million)
Water deer (nickname vampire deer) - native to China and Korea (each with its own subspecies), they are classed as vulnerable to extinction . In Korea they are hunted, as their population has exploded since leopards and tigers disappeared) . There are populations outside their natural range, including the UK
Moose or elk - the second largest deer species, found throughout North America, much of Europe and northern parts of Asia, they are classed as least concern (though extinct in various places including the UK

The last tribe is Tribe Odocoileini which includes 7 genus

I will deal with these 7 genus in two blocks

In the first block:

Genus: Blastocerus 1 (species), Hippocamelus 2, Odocoileus 3, Ozotoceros 1, Pudu 2 and Rangifer 1

Marsh deer - the largest deer species of South America, found throughout tropical and sub-tropical areas. They are classed as vulnerable. Both Jaguar and Puma are missing from much of their range, which is allowing this species population to grow out of control.
South Andean deer - an endangered species, restricted to Chile (features on their coat of arms) and Argentina. These two countries are working together, but whether this work will be a success, is still to be seen
Taruca
Mule deer
White-tailed deer
Yucatan brown brocket
Pampas deer
Northern pudu
Southern pudu
Reindeer

Last genus is genus Mazama, the Brocket family. Brocket, any of several small deer constituting the genus Mazama of the family Cervidae, and found from Mexico to South America. Timid browsers, brockets inhabit wooded areas and generally live alone or in pairs.

Amazonian brown brocket
American Red brocket and 7 subspecies
Central American red brocket
Dwarf brocket
Gray brocket and 7 subspecies
Little red brocket
Madera brocket
Pygmy brocket
Small red brocket

If you want to return to the Ruminants family page click here

Musk deer are similar to cervids in many respects and as such are often classified as a subfamily of the Cervidae. However, they are not. They differ in several ways, but particularly, in that both sexes lack antlers (the male has a huge, scimitar-like canine instead; females have smaller canines). They have a single opening to their lacrimal canals, versus 2 in cervids.

To read about the 7 species of Musk deer, click here

Bovini family or wild cattle

Bovini or the family of all wild cattle species

Bovinae is a biological family of cloven hooved family Each of these three tribes encompass a variety of species and we will deal with these tribes one by one. The Bovinae family includes all bovids, which are ruminant mammals (cloven hooved) which include all of the worlds cattle, yaks, bison, buffalo antelopes (which include goat-antelope) goats and sheep. 

This family currently has 143 surviving species, with 300 known species. it has 11 major families and 13 major tribes.

This family first appeared 20 million years ago. Below is the initial splits into 3 in this family. It should be noted that not all these families will be relevant at the current time – but as destinations grow all should be fully relevant. 

 

four-horned antelope
African buffalo
Tragelaphini (spiral-horned antelopes) A Kudu

So, firstly Borselaphini, this consists of just 2 species, the Nilgai and the 4-horned 

The next tribe (below) is Bovini, which includes 3 families. These vary in size quite widely with the middle one only containing one species

Bovini Family - here an African Buffalo
psuedorygina Family - containing just Saola
Bos Family - here American Bison

The first family Bubalina contains 2 Genus Syncerus only contains one species (first) the rest are from Bubalina

              Genus Syncerus                                                              Genus Bubalus

 

The second family contains one genus psuedorygina which contains one species the Saola

Bovina contains 1 Bison subgenus (it used to contain 2 but the Genus Bos became a subgenus (it should be noted there are far more subgenus that are extinct). Also, for simplicity sake, any subspecies will only be mentioned in each species page.

   Subgenus Bos                        poephagus                                Bison & Bos                               Bibos

Bos is domestic cattle

_Taurus originate in Africa,  _Mutus=wild Yak,                           Bos_Indicus                                                                                                Domestic cattle                            Originate in Himilayas               Originate in India, fatty hump (first on second row)                                and Aurochs                                     

Finally tribe Tragelaphini or spiral horned antelope contains 5 genus. The first 4 contain 1 species (in order) the last genus has 3 species. If I cover subspecies these will be in their own pages

Genus Ammelaphus           Genus Nyala                                                        Genus Tragelaphus                        Genus Taurotragus             Genus Strepsiceros

lesser kudu - Genus Ammelaphus
nyala - Genus Nyala
Eland - Genus Taurotragus Wagner
greater kudu - Genus Strepsiceros
Mountain nyala
giant eland (eastern and western)
Bushbuck
Bongo
Situnga

Bovidae family (including Aegodontia &Boodontia) or Antelope family tree

Bovidae family (including Aegodontia &Boodontia) or Antelope family tree

Antelope lie in the Bovidae family, and account for around 2/3 of the 135 Bovidae species that exist in the world. It should be noted that deer come from the family Cervidae, which means that despite looking extremely similar, antelope are more closely related to cattle than they are to deer.

There are 91 antelope species in the world with 72 found in Africa, 14 in Asia, with the last 5 found in Eastern Europe.

There are 8 subfamilies in Africa

Bushbuck
2. Reduncinae (Boher reedbuck)
3. Peleinae (grey rhebok)
Hirola
Beisa oryx
Impala
Bates’ Pigmy Antelope
Abbott’s Duiker

1. Subfamily Bovinae

Spiral horned antelopes made up of tribe Tragelaphini: 9 species 4 subspecies.

Bushbuck
common eland
Giant eland (eastern and western subspecies)
Greater Kudu
lesser kudu
Eastern bongo
nyala
mounain nyala
mountain bongo
Sitatunga

2. Subfamily Reduncinae

Rhebok, reedbucks, and waterbucks 8 Species, 11 Subspecies
2. Reduncinae (Boher reedbuck)
mountain reedbuck
southern reedbuck
Kob
Red Lechwe
Nile lechwe
puku
Waterbuck

3. Subfamily Peleinae:

 1 Species
 
Grey rhebok

4. Subfamily Alcelaphinae

 

Sassabies, hartebeests, and wildebeests: 6 Species (depending on how you count, it can be anywhere from 6 to 10) , 19 Subspecies

Hirola
Tsessebe, also known as Topi Sasseby and Tiang
Bontebok
Genus Alcelaphus, Hartebeest
Blue wildebeest
Black wildebeest

5. Subfamily Hippotraginae

Grazing antelope: 7 Species, 4 Subspecies
Addax
Sable antelope
Giant Sable
Roam
gemsbok
Beisa oryx
scimitar oryx

6. Subfamily Aepycerotinae

Impala: 1 Species which is impala, 2 Subspecies

Impala

7. Subfamily Antilopinae

Gazelles, dwarf antelopes

    • Tribe Antilopini: 10 Species, 4 Subspecies
Dama Gazelle
Docas Gazelle
gerenuk
grant’s gazelle
Mhorr Gazelle Shankar s
red fronted gazelle
Slender horned gazelle
https://seeanimalswild.com/3-4-5-peleinae-alcelaphinae-hippotraginae/#Soemmerings gazelle
Spekes gazelle
springbok
thomsons gazelle
  • Tribe Ammodorcadini: 1 Species
dibatag
  • Tribe Neotragini: 13 Species, 4 Subspecies
Bates’ Pigmy Antelope
Beira
Cape Grysbok
Guenther’s Dikdik
Kirk’s Dikdik
Klipspringer
Oribi
Royal Antelope
Salt’s Dikdik
Sharpe’s Grysbok
Steenbok
silver dikdik
Suni

8. Subfamily Cephalophinae

 Duiker: 17 Species, 7 Subspecies

Abbott’s Duiker
Aders’ Duiker
Bay Duiker
Black Duiker
Black-fronted Duiker
Blue Duiker
Grey Duiker or common
Harvey’s Red Duiker
Jentink’s Duiker
Maxwell’s Duiker
Natal Red Duiker
Ogilby’s Duiker and subs
Peters’ Duiker and sub
Red-flanked Duiker
White-bellied Duiker
Yellow-backed Duiker
Zebra Duiker

If you want to return to the Ruminants family page click here

Fur Seals

Like Sea lions, fur seals are an eared seal, but there is not just one in the world, but instead a whole range of them.

 

 

They are more closely related to sea lions than to true seals, have external ears, long flippers and the ability to walk on all fours.

This is all the species of fur seals, but the middle fur seal is the only one found in the northern hemisphere.

Do work with us if you work in tourism of fur seals, we are keen over time to list as many tourism opportunities that are to do with, and to help people find you.

Pinniped Family tree

Pinniped family tree

Pinnipeds is the extended seal family. This includes 34 species. Many of these are quite similar, but there are clear families within the clad.

First divide is between seals with external ears and those without. 

Earless seals are then divided between northern hemisphere (phosinae) and southern hemisphere (monachinae), while the eared seals are divided between fur seals and sea lions (Otariidae ) and the walrus (only member of Odobenidae).

                                                                                                            Earless seals                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Eared Seals

Southern Hemishpere earless sealsweddell seal, monachinae
Bearded seal
fur seal
Pacific Warus Odobenidae

So Dealing with these families one by one, we will start with the family Moarchinae

This contains the Monarchini genus (which consists of the monks seals), Miroungini (which consists of the Northern and Southern Elephant seal) and finally Lobodontini (which consists of 4 seal species, the Ross seal, Crabeaters seal, and the closely related species the Weddled seal and the Leopard seal)

Moarchinae

Carribean monk seal extinct
Hawaiian monk seal
mediterranean monk seal
northern elephant seal
Crabeater seal
Ross seal
Southern elephant seal
Leopard seal
weddell seal

The other family in earless seals is Phocinae. The bulk of the seals in this group lie in the genus Phocini. Only the Bearded and Hooded seal lie in this group but outside this genus

Phocinae

Baikal seal
Caspian seal
Grey seal
Harbor seal
hooded seal
Harp seal
Ribbon seal
ringed seal
Spotted seal
Bearded seal

The other half of the family consists of the eared seals, which consist of fur seals and sea lions (in Otaridae), as well as the walrus in Odebenidae.

So, first the eared seals: these consist of the sea lions and the fur seals. Below is the fur seals

Fur seals

Subantarctic fur seal
Antarctic fur seal
Australasian fur seal
Galápagos fur seal
Guadalupe fur seal
Juan Fernández fur seal
Northern fur seal
South American fur seal
Brown fur seal

Finally, the sea lions

Steller sea lion
Australian sea lion
California sea lion
Galápagos sea lion
New Zealand sea lion
South American sea lion

And lastly Walrus

Odobenidae

Walrus

In many places, these species are relatively easy to find, whether you need to take a boat trip, or merely go for a walk along the right stretch of shore. We are keen to help seal tourism worldwide, do reach out, and we can promote your tourism. You will find a form to fill in at the top of the page, under list your wild place.

Also, there is a plugin on each page, which should show news related to each species.

Bear Family tree

Bear family tree

The world has 8 species of bear. Although an incredibly successful family in their own right, humans have not been good for the various species which make up this family.

Click on a picture to be taken to its page

Sun bear Genus Ursinae
Sloth bear Genus Ursinae
Asiatic black bear or moon bear Genus Ursinae
Spectacled bear Genus Ursinae subfamily Ailuropodinae
Polar bear Genus Ursinae
Brown bear Genus Ursinae
American black bear Genus Ursinae
Panda bear

Below is a family tree showing current understood relation between the bear species

African wolf

African Wolf : Although only formerly identified by mondern science in 2017, Aristotle recognized the African wolf in his time
African Wolf : Although only formerly identified by mondern science in 2017, Aristotle recognized the African wolf in his time

African Wolf

Perhaps one of the more interesting announcements from wildlife study in the last decade was the discovery of a wolf living under everyones nose in Africa. It is a little understandable, as it does look quite like a jackal, and certainly different to a European wolf. Having said this, it is still a significant oversight. 

It was initially described as the African Wolf back in 1832. Indeed, Aristotle talked of wolves living in Egypt in his time, however, it was not until 2017 when a second modern study was done on it, and it was definitively recognized as a species. The problem is that, despite this huge range there is no idea how many African wolves there are in the wild. Obviously with this huge range, it is not unreasonable to suggest that they are locally extinct in areas – there are a number of subspecies that have been tentatively suggested, however until true assessments are made, this seems more than we need.

It should be noted, that it is not surprising that the African wolf was overlooked for so long, as it has got smaller over its time in Africa, to the extent that it is very hard to tell the difference between tha African golden wolf, and the golden jackal.

There has been little study of this species, and it is unclear exactly how much range that it has. Hopefully, this will happen in time, but it is clear that the big problem is telling the difference between golden jackals and golden wolves. 

African wolf range

There are a number of subspecies of the African wolf (quite quick, given it was not redeclared as a species 6 years ago. They are classed as a least concern. While not all sub-species have a clear estimate of the current population, genetic analysis suggests that the historic population was not smaller than 80,000 females.

  • Algerian wolf – range Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia -A dark-coloured subspecies, with a tail marked with three dusky rings. It is similar in size to the red fox
  • Senegalese wolf – Senegal – Similar to the Egyptian wolf, but smaller and more lightly built, with paler fur and a sharper muzzle.
  • Serengeti wolf – Kenya, northern Tanzania – Smaller and lighter-coloured than the northern forms. The wild population is 1500-2000
  • Egyptian wolf – Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Ethiopian Highlands, and Senegal – A large, stoutly built subspecies with proportionately short ears and presenting a very gray wolf-like phenotype, standing 40.6 cm in shoulder height and 127 cm in body length. The upper parts are yellowish-gray tinged with black, while the muzzle, the ears and the outer surfaces of the limbs are reddish-yellow. The fur around the mouth is white.
  • Somali wolf – Somalia and the coast of Ethiopia and Eritrea – A dwarf subspecies measuring only 12 inches in shoulder height, it is generally of a grayish-yellow color, mingled with only a small proportion of black. The muzzle and legs are more decidedly yellow, and the underparts are white.
  • Variegated wolf – Sudan and Somalia – A small subspecies standing 38 cm (15 in) at the shoulder, and measuring 102 cm (40 in) in length. The fur is generally pale stone-buff, with blotches of black.

We are incredibly eager to work with any guides who encounter the African wolf in their work, and list your services here. Please get in touch through the list your wild place option at the top of the page.

Red wolf

red wolf

Red wolves

Red wolves have varied a bit about whether they should be classed as their own species or a subspecies of the grey wolf, however it has now been settled that they are separate for quite some time.

Size-wise it lies midway between a grey wolf and a coyote. Indeed, despite its serious danger of extinction, it is often missing from the endangered list. It has at various times been suggested to be a cross between the wolf and the coyote, or been a subspecies of the wolf.

It has been listed as critically endangered since 1996 by the IUCN, yet the same species is not listed in the CITES appendices of endangered species.

If or when we write any articles on this subject, they will appear below

To return to the canine family, click here

Big cat family tree

The Cat (felidae) family tree

Pantherera family
Bay cat family
Caracal family
Leopardus family
Lynx family (this is the Eurasian Lynx)
Puma family
Leopard cat family
Domestic cat and family

The Cats form an incredibly successful family. It is true that they are missing from the polar regions, and Australasia, but everywhere that they reached they have been successful, and in many ecosystems they are the undisputed kings

Panthera Family

 This family split from hte Felid ancestor 10.8 million years ago. There have been some debate as to whether the two species of clouded leopards should be included in Panthera. On the circular mammal tree (which we are using – look in the species watch tab, or click here)

They are generally included in a subgenus Panthera_Neofilis

 

Lion - all subspecies
Leopard - all subspecies
Jaguar
Tiger
Snow Leopard
Clouded Leopard
Sunda Clouded Leopard

Bay cat Familiy

Bay cat ancestor split 9.4 milion years ago

Asiatic Golden cat
Bay cat family
Marbled cat

Caracal Family

Caracal Ancestor split 8.5 million years ago

Caracal family
African Golden Cat
Serval

Ocelot Family

Ocelot Ancestor 2.9 million years ago

Geoffrey cat
Kodkod
Tigrina or Oncilla (North and South)
Andean mountain cat
Pampas cat
Margay
Ocelot

Lynx Family

Lynx Ancestor 3.2 million years ago

Lynx family (this is the Eurasian Lynx)
Iberian lynx ( Lynx pardinus ) lying down on a rock in Spain
Bobcat
Canada Lynx in the snow is gazing curiously at the camera

Puma Family

Puma ancestor 4.9 million years ago

Puma (cougar, Mountain Lion)
Jaguarundi
Cheetah

Leopard cat Family

Leopard cat Ancestor 5.9 million year ago

Asian Leopard cat
Fishing Cat
Flat headed cat
Rusty spotted cat
Pallas cat

Domestic cat Family

Domestic cat Ancestor

Domestic cat and family
Wildcat
Sand cat
Black footed cat
Jungle cat

Clouded leopard and Sunda clouded leopard

Clouded leopard and sunda clouded leopard

Clouded leopards are actually one of the most ancient cat species, however due to their inability to roar or purr, they cannot officially be considered a big cat (roar) or a small cat (purr) due to their definition, which puts them in an odd category. They are most closely related to snow leopards, and are in the same family as the big cats from genetic research. It has recently been confirmed that there are 2 different clouded leopard species, one on the mainland, and the other on the islands (the sunda clouded leopard.

Both species are considered vulnerable. The mainland clouded leopard is thought to number between 3700 and 5580, while the sunda clouded leopard is thought to number around 4500 3800 in Borneo and 730 on Sumatra.

Clouded leopards are found in the forests of South East Asia. Both Poaching and habitat loss threaten their future survival is not easy to see, it makes it is hard for it to be clear what its current range is. However, if you simply compare extinct to all possible remaining habitat, you can see the best possibiltiy is that range has reduced by around 50%


The clouded leopard has been split into two species – the Clouded leopard found on mainland Asia (big picture at the top), and the Sunda clouded leopard (picture above) found on Borneo and Sumatra (these Sunda Clouded leopards have not interbred for a very long time so are considered 2 subspecies). 

 

This is a further image of a clouded leopard though taken in a US zoo, which allows an easier time of getting a good view of the head.

The map above shows the former and current range for these two species. As we start to link with places on the ground, we are likely to create separate pages for each of these clouded leopard species. Below is a video of each species of clouded leopard.

We look to work with people on the ground. Do get in touch if you live or work in the area, and can help people see these incredible animals click here

[TS_Video_Gallery id="5"]
See Animals Wild

Read more news

Join as a wild member
to list your wild place & log in

Join as an ambassador supporter to
support this site, help save wildlife
and make friends & log in

Join as an Associate member
to assist as a writer, creator, lister etc & to log in

List a wild destination

List a destination in
the shadow of man

List a hide for animals more easily seen this way

Highlight some news
missed, or submit a
one-off article

Browse destinations for fun or future travel

Temporary membership
start here if in a hurry

Casual readers and watchers