Serow

For other uses of "Serow", see Serow (disambiguation).

Serow
Mainland Serow Capricornis sumatraensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Caprinae
Genus:	Capricornis Ogilby, 1836
Species
Capricornis crispus Capricornis milneedwardsii Capricornis rubidus Capricornis sumatraensis Capricornis swinhoei Capricornis thar

The serows are six species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus Capricornis.

All six species of serow were until recently also classified under Naemorhedus, which now only contains the gorals. They live in central or eastern Asia.

• The Japanese Serow, Capricornis crispus
• The Taiwan Serow, Capricornis swinhoei
• The Sumatran serow, Capricornis sumatraensis
• The Chinese Serow, Capricornis milneedwardsii
• The Red Serow, Capricornis rubidus
• The Himalayan Serow, Capricornis thar

Like their smaller relatives the gorals, serows are often found grazing on rocky hills, though typically at a lower elevation when the two types of animal share territory. Serows are the slower and less agile than members of the genus Nemorhaedus, but they are nevertheless able to climb slopes to escape predation or to take shelter during cold winters or hot summers. Serows, unlike gorals, make use of their pre-orbital glands in scent marking.

Coloration varies by species, region, and individual. Both sexes have beards and small horns which are often shorter than their ears.

Fossils of serow-like animals date as far back as the late Pliocene, two to seven million years ago. The other members of the Caprinae family may have evolved from these creatures.