Dama (genus) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dama (genus) |
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| European fallow deer (D. dama) | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Cervinae |
| Tribe: | Cervini |
| Genus: | Dama Frisch, 1775 |
| Type species | |
| Cervus dama |
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| Species | |
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Dama is a genus of deer in the subfamily Cervinae, commonly referred to as fallow deer.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown color. The Latin word dāma or damma, used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes, lies at the root of the modern scientific name, as well as the German Damhirsch, French daim, Dutch damhert, and Italian daino. In Croatian and Serbian, the name for the fallow deer is jelen lopatar ("shovel deer"), due to the form of its antlers. The Modern Hebrew name of the fallow deer is yachmur (יחמור).
Taxonomy and evolution
The genus includes two species:
Extant species
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
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D. dama | European fallow deer | Confirmed native only to Turkey, but potentially native to the Italian Peninsula, the Balkans, and the island of Rhodes in Greece; introduced from Roman times onwards to the rest of Europe, and around the world in more recent times |
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D. mesopotamica | Persian fallow deer | Iran and Israel; once ranged throughout the Middle East and eastern Turkey |
Taxonomy
Some taxonomists include the Persian fallow deer as a subspecies (D. d. mesopotamica), while others, such as the IUCN, treat it as a different species (D. mesopotamica).
See also
In Spanish: Dama (género) para niños
