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Added a paragraph on archaeology and history of eogroenlandicus and a 2-line sentence referring to West Greenland Caribou (for which there is no page-yet)
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{{Short description|Arctic caribou may refer to any of the caribou or reindeer that live in Arctic regions, including the Svalbard, Norway, Greenland, and High Arctic archipelago of Canada; or to Rangifer arcticus, the name of Canadian mainland barren-ground caribou of the Beringian-Eurasian lineage after a recent revision.}}
{{Short description|Subspecies of deer}}
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== Greenland ==
The '''Arctic reindeer''' (''Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus''), properly known as the '''East Greenland caribou''', was a subspecies of the [[reindeer]] (or the caribou in [[North America]]) that once lived in eastern Greenland. It has been extinct since 1900.
The '''Arctic reindeer''' (''Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus''), properly known as the '''East Greenland caribou''', was a subspecies of the [[reindeer]] (or the caribou in [[North America]]) that once lived in eastern Greenland. It has been extinct since 1900.


Archaeologists have found bones of small caribou the size of Peary caribou, ''Rangifer arcticus pearyi'', throughout Greenland in the Illinoian-Wisconsin interglacial and through the LGM and early Holocene (Meldgaard 1986).<ref>Meldgaard M (1986) The Greenland caribou - zoogeography, taxonomy and population dynamics. Vol. 20,Kommissionen for Videnskabelige Undersagelser i Grønland, Meddelelser om Grøinland, Bioscience, Univ. Copenhagen, zoologisk museum, Denmark, 88 pp</ref>  Degerbøl (1957)<ref>Degerbøl M (1957) The extinct reindeer of East-Greenland: Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus, subsp. nov.: compared with reindeer from other Arctic regions. Acta Arctica 10: 1-66.</ref> described the East Greenland caribou (reindeer), ''R. t. eogroenlandicus'', a small caribou that became extinct about 1900, from a relict enclave in north-eastern Greenland (see Figure 2 in Harding, 2022).<ref>Harding LE (2022) Available names for Rangifer (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Cervidae) species and subspecies. ZooKeys 1119: 117-151. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1119.80233.</ref> However, Anderson (1946)<ref>Anderson RM (1946) Catalogue of Canadian Recent mammals. National Museum of Canada Bulletin No. 102, Biological Series 31, Ottawa, Ontario, 238 pp.</ref> thought that the small caribou that were occasionally found in northwest Greenland (and by implication, throughout Greenland in prehistoric times) were Peary caribou. Bennike (1988),<ref>Bennike O (1988) Review: The Greenland caribou-zoogeography, taxonomy and population dynamics, by Morten Meldgaard. Arctic 41: 146-147. doi:doi:10.14430/arctic1984.</ref> comparing bones and noting that Peary caribou have been documented crossing Nares Strait to Greenland, doubted that ''pearyi'' and ''eogroenlandicus'' were subspecifically distinct. That Peary caribou shared certain mtDNA haplotypes and morphological similarities with it (Kvie et al. 2016)<ref>Kvie KS, Heggenes J, Anderson DG, Kholodova MV, Sipko T, Mizin I, Røed KH (2016) Colonizing the high arctic: mitochondrial DNA reveals common origin of Eurasian archipelagic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). PloS one 11: e0165237. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165237.</ref> casts further doubt on the validity of ''R. t. eogroenlandicus''. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional or community knowledge) records that Peary caribou do, occasionally, cross to Greenland.<ref>Taylor ADM (2005) Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit about population changes and ecology of Peary caribou and muskoxen on the High Arctic islands of Nunavut. MA Thesis, Kingston, Ontario: Queen’s University</ref>
Archaeologists have found bones of small caribou the size of Peary caribou, ''Rangifer arcticus pearyi'', throughout Greenland in the Illinoian-Wisconsin interglacial and through the LGM and early Holocene (Meldgaard 1986).<ref>Meldgaard M (1986) The Greenland caribou - zoogeography, taxonomy and population dynamics. Vol. 20,Kommissionen for Videnskabelige Undersagelser i Grønland, Meddelelser om Grøinland, Bioscience, Univ. Copenhagen, zoologisk museum, Denmark, 88 pp</ref>  Degerbøl (1957)<ref>Degerbøl M (1957) The extinct reindeer of East-Greenland: Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus, subsp. nov.: compared with reindeer from other Arctic regions. Acta Arctica 10: 1-66.</ref> described the East Greenland caribou (reindeer), ''R. t. eogroenlandicus'', a small caribou that became extinct about 1900, from a relict enclave in north-eastern Greenland (see Figure 2 in Harding, 2022).<ref name=":0">Harding LE (2022) Available names for Rangifer (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Cervidae) species and subspecies. ZooKeys 1119: 117-151. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1119.80233.</ref> However, Anderson (1946)<ref>Anderson RM (1946) Catalogue of Canadian Recent mammals. National Museum of Canada Bulletin No. 102, Biological Series 31, Ottawa, Ontario, 238 pp.</ref> thought that the small caribou that were occasionally found in northwest Greenland (and by implication, throughout Greenland in prehistoric times) were Peary caribou. Bennike (1988),<ref>Bennike O (1988) Review: The Greenland caribou-zoogeography, taxonomy and population dynamics, by Morten Meldgaard. Arctic 41: 146-147. doi:doi:10.14430/arctic1984.</ref> comparing bones and noting that Peary caribou have been documented crossing Nares Strait to Greenland, doubted that ''pearyi'' and ''eogroenlandicus'' were subspecifically distinct. That Peary caribou shared certain mtDNA haplotypes and morphological similarities with it (Kvie et al. 2016)<ref>Kvie KS, Heggenes J, Anderson DG, Kholodova MV, Sipko T, Mizin I, Røed KH (2016) Colonizing the high arctic: mitochondrial DNA reveals common origin of Eurasian archipelagic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). PloS one 11: e0165237. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165237.</ref> casts further doubt on the validity of ''R. t. eogroenlandicus''. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional or community knowledge) records that Peary caribou do, occasionally, cross to Greenland.<ref>Taylor ADM (2005) Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit about population changes and ecology of Peary caribou and muskoxen on the High Arctic islands of Nunavut. MA Thesis, Kingston, Ontario: Queen’s University</ref>


The (West) Greenland caribou is larger and darker and not referable to either ''R. a. pearyi'' or ''R. t. eogroenlandicus''.
The (West) Greenland caribou or [[reindeer]] (''R. groenlandicus'' after a recent revision <ref name=":0" />) is larger and darker and not referable to either ''R. a. pearyi'' or ''R. t. eogroenlandicus''.


== Canadian Arctic Archipelago ==
==References==
Caribou on most of the High Arctic islands are Peary caribou, ''R. arcticus pearyi''. (see [[Reindeer]]).
{{reflist}}

== Svalbard, Norway ==
Reindeer on the island group of Svalbard have recently been classified as a full species, ''R. platyrhinchus''. See [[Reindeer]].

== Other reindeer and caribou populations ==
Many other caribou (North America) and reindeer (Eurasia) live in Arctic regions, that is, north of the Arctic Circle at 66° North (or in tundra, under a botanical definition of Arctic). See [[Reindeer]].

References {{reflist}}
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q3418954}}



Revision as of 22:25, 26 March 2023

Arctic reindeer

Extinct (1900)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Subfamily: Capreolinae
Genus: Rangifer
Species:
Subspecies:
R. t. eogroenlandicus
Trinomial name
Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus

Greenland

The Arctic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus), properly known as the East Greenland caribou, was a subspecies of the reindeer (or the caribou in North America) that once lived in eastern Greenland. It has been extinct since 1900.

Archaeologists have found bones of small caribou the size of Peary caribou, Rangifer arcticus pearyi, throughout Greenland in the Illinoian-Wisconsin interglacial and through the LGM and early Holocene (Meldgaard 1986).[3]  Degerbøl (1957)[4] described the East Greenland caribou (reindeer), R. t. eogroenlandicus, a small caribou that became extinct about 1900, from a relict enclave in north-eastern Greenland (see Figure 2 in Harding, 2022).[5] However, Anderson (1946)[6] thought that the small caribou that were occasionally found in northwest Greenland (and by implication, throughout Greenland in prehistoric times) were Peary caribou. Bennike (1988),[7] comparing bones and noting that Peary caribou have been documented crossing Nares Strait to Greenland, doubted that pearyi and eogroenlandicus were subspecifically distinct. That Peary caribou shared certain mtDNA haplotypes and morphological similarities with it (Kvie et al. 2016)[8] casts further doubt on the validity of R. t. eogroenlandicus. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (traditional or community knowledge) records that Peary caribou do, occasionally, cross to Greenland.[9]

The (West) Greenland caribou or reindeer (R. groenlandicus after a recent revision [5]) is larger and darker and not referable to either R. a. pearyi or R. t. eogroenlandicus.

Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Caribou on most of the High Arctic islands are Peary caribou, R. arcticus pearyi. (see Reindeer).

Svalbard, Norway

Reindeer on the island group of Svalbard have recently been classified as a full species, R. platyrhinchus. See Reindeer.

Other reindeer and caribou populations

Many other caribou (North America) and reindeer (Eurasia) live in Arctic regions, that is, north of the Arctic Circle at 66° North (or in tundra, under a botanical definition of Arctic). See Reindeer.

References

  1. ^ Gunn, A. (2016). "Rangifer tarandus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T29742A22167140. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T29742A22167140.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Hatting, Tove (1978). "Magnus Anton Degerbøl: 1895-1977". Journal of Mammalogy. 59 (4): 894–897. doi:10.2307/1380173. JSTOR 1380173.
  3. ^ Meldgaard M (1986) The Greenland caribou - zoogeography, taxonomy and population dynamics. Vol. 20,Kommissionen for Videnskabelige Undersagelser i Grønland, Meddelelser om Grøinland, Bioscience, Univ. Copenhagen, zoologisk museum, Denmark, 88 pp
  4. ^ Degerbøl M (1957) The extinct reindeer of East-Greenland: Rangifer tarandus eogroenlandicus, subsp. nov.: compared with reindeer from other Arctic regions. Acta Arctica 10: 1-66.
  5. ^ a b Harding LE (2022) Available names for Rangifer (Mammalia, Artiodactyla, Cervidae) species and subspecies. ZooKeys 1119: 117-151. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1119.80233.
  6. ^ Anderson RM (1946) Catalogue of Canadian Recent mammals. National Museum of Canada Bulletin No. 102, Biological Series 31, Ottawa, Ontario, 238 pp.
  7. ^ Bennike O (1988) Review: The Greenland caribou-zoogeography, taxonomy and population dynamics, by Morten Meldgaard. Arctic 41: 146-147. doi:doi:10.14430/arctic1984.
  8. ^ Kvie KS, Heggenes J, Anderson DG, Kholodova MV, Sipko T, Mizin I, Røed KH (2016) Colonizing the high arctic: mitochondrial DNA reveals common origin of Eurasian archipelagic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). PloS one 11: e0165237. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165237.
  9. ^ Taylor ADM (2005) Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit about population changes and ecology of Peary caribou and muskoxen on the High Arctic islands of Nunavut. MA Thesis, Kingston, Ontario: Queen’s University