Until recently, biologists considered the red deer and elk or wapiti (C. canadensis) the same species, forming a continuous distribution throughout temperate Eurasia and North America.
This belief was based largely on the fully fertile hybrids that can be produced under captive conditions.

Genetic evidence clearly shows the wapiti and red deer form two separate species.

Among red deer, the easternmost forms (from the Caspian Sea to western China) form a primordial subgroup, which includes the Yarkand deer and Bactrian deer (the two may be synonymous).

Another member of the red deer group which may represent a separate species is C. corsicanus.
If so, C. corsicanus includes the subspecies C. e. barbarus (perhaps a synonym of C. e. corsicanus), and is restricted to Maghreb in North Africa, Corsica, and Sardinia.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature originally listed nine subspecies of red deer (Cervus elaphus): three as endangered, one as vulnerable, one as near threatened, and four without enough data to give a category (Data Deficient).
The species as a whole, however, is listed as least concern.
However, this was based on the traditional classification of red deer as one species (Cervus elaphus), including the wapiti.
The common red deer is also known as simply red deer.

Selected members of the red deer species group are listed in the table below.
Of the ones listed, C. e. hippelaphus, C. e. scoticus, and C. e. bactrianus may all be junior synonyms.

Cervus elaphus appeared in the Europe by the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene around 800,000 years ago.
These earliest forms belonged to the palaeosubspecies Cervus elaphus acoronatus.
Other palaeosubspecies are known, including those belonging to C. elaphus rianensis from the Middle Pleistocene of Italy, C. elaphus siciliae from the late Middle and Late Pleistocene of Sicily.
Until recently, biologists considered the red deer and elk or wapiti (C. canadensis) the same species, forming a continuous distribution throughout temperate Eurasia and North America. This belief was based largely on the fully fertile hybrids that can be produced under captive conditions.
Genetic evidence clearly shows the wapiti and red deer form two separate species.
Among red deer, the easternmost forms (from the Caspian Sea to western China) form a primordial subgroup, which includes the Yarkand deer and Bactrian deer (the two may be synonymous).
Another member of the red deer group which may represent a separate species is C. corsicanus. If so, C. corsicanus includes the subspecies C. e. barbarus (perhaps a synonym of C. e. corsicanus), and is restricted to Maghreb in North Africa, Corsica, and Sardinia.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature originally listed nine subspecies of red deer (Cervus elaphus): three as endangered, one as vulnerable, one as near threatened, and four without enough data to give a category (Data Deficient). The species as a whole, however, is listed as least concern. However, this was based on the traditional classification of red deer as one species (Cervus elaphus), including the wapiti. The common red deer is also known as simply red deer.
Selected members of the red deer species group are listed in the table below. Of the ones listed, C. e. hippelaphus, C. e. scoticus, and C. e. bactrianus may all be junior synonyms.
Cervus elaphus appeared in the Europe by the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene around 800,000 years ago. These earliest forms belonged to the palaeosubspecies Cervus elaphus acoronatus. Other palaeosubspecies are known, including those belonging to C. elaphus rianensis from the Middle Pleistocene of Italy, C. elaphus siciliae from the late Middle and Late Pleistocene of Sicily.
Red deer