Queen Charlotte Islands caribou
| Queen Charlotte Islands caribou or Dawson's caribou | |
|---|---|
Extinct (1908)
| |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Genus: | Rangifer |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | †R. t. dawsoni
|
| Trinomial name | |
| †Rangifer tarandus dawsoni (Seton, 1900)
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| |
| Approximate range of subspecies of Rangifer tarandus. Overlap with other subspecies of caribou is possible for contiguous range. 1.Rangifer tarandus caribou subdivided into ecotypes: woodland (boreal), woodland (migratory), woodland (montane), 2.R. t. dawsoni, 3. R. t. granti, 4. Barren-ground caribou R. t. groenlandicus, 5. Groenlandicus/Pearyi 6. R. t. pearyi | |
The Queen Charlotte Islands caribou or Dawson's caribou (Rangifer tarandus dawsoni) is an extinct subspecies of the caribou that once lived on Graham Island, the largest of the Haida Gwaii islands in British Columbia, Canada. Possible causes of extinction include habitat destruction, introduced disease and overhunting. It was gray in appearance. The last three caribou killed in 1908 can be seen at the Royal British Columbia Museum, where their pelts and bones are preserved and displayed.[1][2] Recent analysis of mtDNA suggests that the Queen Charlotte Islands Caribou was not genetically distinct from the subspecies from the Canadian mainland.[3]
References
- ^ Dawson Caribou, Species at Risk
- ^ "Caribou in Canada". Canadian Geographic. 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
- ^ Byun, S.A.; B.F. Koop, and T.E. Reimchen. (2002). Evolution of the Dawson caribou (Rangifer tarandus dawsoni). Can. J. Zool. 80(5): 956–960. doi:10.1139/z02-062. NRC Canada. online[permanent dead link]