Rusa alfredi (Sclater, 1870)
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6514377 |
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6514487 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A087C4-FFCE-FFCF-FF0C-FCBEE5FAF800 |
treatment provided by |
Conny |
scientific name |
Rusa alfredi |
status |
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Philippine Spotted Deer
French: Cerf d'Alfred / German: Prinz-Alfred-Hirsch / Spanish: Sambar manchado de Filipinas
Other common names: Prince Alfred's Sambar, Visayan Spotted Deer
Taxonomy. Cervus alfredi Sclater, 1870 View in CoL ,
Philippines.
This species has been treated for decades as a dwarf island form of R. unicolor . The scientific name refers to Prince Alfred, son of Queen Victoria, who sent a specimen to P. L. Sclater. Monotypic.
Distribution. Panay and Negros Is, in W Visayas, Philippines. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 130 cm, tail 12 cm, shoulder height 65-75 cm; weight of males around 40 kg. Small to medium-sized deer with a narrow skull and pointed face. Ears relatively small. Fur fine, soft, and dense. The coat is dark brown with beige and whitish spots and a blackish spinal band. Head and neck darker, underparts cream. White on chin and lowerlip. Antlers of adults three-tined and 25 cm in lenght.
Habitat. It is now restricted to steep slopes of dipterocarp forests.
Food and Feeding. It feeds on leaves, buds, forbs, young grasses, and fruits.
Breeding. Females attain puberty at about twelve months of age. Breeding occurs all year. Mating season peaks in November-December, births in May-June. Gestation is around 240 days. Females give birth to a single fawn.
Activity patterns. Mainly nocturnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. It is not very social, with males mostly solitary and females with their fawns.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. Hunting and logging for plantations and agriculture have drastically fragmented its range and decreased its population.
Bibliography. Cox (1987), Grubb & Groves (1983), Oliver et al. (1991).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.