Serow

The serows (/səˈr/ or /ˈsɛr/) are six species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals of the genus Capricornis.

Serow[1]
Sumatran Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) at Dusit Zoo, Bangkok, Thailand.
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 thar
Capricornis swinhoei

Extant species

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

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Capricornis crispusJapanese serowfour main islands of Japan
Capricornis sumatraensisSumatran serowThai-Malay Peninsula and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra
Capricornis milneedwardsiiChinese serowChina and Southeast Asia
Capricornis rubidusRed serowsouthern Bangladesh and northern Burma
Capricornis tharHimalayan seroweastern Himalayas and eastern and southeastern Bangladesh
Capricornis swinhoeiTaiwan serowTaiwan

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 slower and less agile than gorals, but they nevertheless can climb slopes to escape predation, and to take shelter during cold winters or hot summers. Serows, unlike gorals, make use of their preorbital 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 common ancestor species of the Caprinae subfamily may have been very similar to modern serows.

The serow subfamily population as a whole is considered endangered. Most serow species are included in the red list of IUCN with decreasing populations. The Japanese serow is better protected than the other sub-species of serows (source: IUCN 2008).

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References

  1. Grubb, P. (2005). Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 703–705. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
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