Note on a Near-Eastern relic population of roe deer, Capreolus capreolus (L., 1758) (Mammalia, Artiodactyla)

Abstract

Biogeographia - vol. XXI - 2000 (Pubblicato i/ 30 giugno 2000) Biogeografia delI’Anatolia Note on a Near—Eastern relic population of roe deer, Capreolus cczpreolus (L., 1758) (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) MARCO MASSET1 Irtituta di Antmpo/ogizz de[[’U7zz'12e5z'tt‘z di Firenze, Vizz Del Procomolo, 12 — I— 50122 Firenze (Italy) Key words: southern Anatolian mammals, Crz/um/m‘ mprzlolm (L., 1758), Kurdish roe deer. SUMMARY Roe deer from south—eastern Anatolia, Upper Mesopotamia, and the northern Levant are referred to the Kurdish subspecies, Crzprea/ur czlprco/m‘ caxi (Cheesman and Hinton, 1923). This paper confirms the persistence of roe deer in the mountainous territories along the extant border between south-eastern Turkey and north-western Syria. Since antiquity, the Amanus mountains and all the forested region that lies along the present political border between south—eastern Turkey and north—western Syria were well known as the land of deer. The occurrence of these ungulates has also been documented by classical authors, such as Aelian who observed that: “. . .deer live on the highest mountains, the Amanus, Lebanon, and Carmel.” (De Nzztum Am'mzz[z'um, V: 56). Certain taxa, such as the Mesopotamian fallow deer, Damn dzlmzz meropommiczz (Brooke, 1875), and the red deer, Cervm elzzpbus L., 1758, probably survived there until comparatively recent historical times (Tristram, 1888; Mouterde, 1966; Harrison, 1968 and 1972; Harrison and Bates, 1991). Today the roe deer, Czzpreolus azpreolus (L., 1758) is the only representative of the Cervidae family which is reputed to survive in these territories (cf. Harrison, 1968; Harrison and Bates, 1991). 1ts occurrence was already reported by Carruthers (1909), Talbot (1960), and others. Most specifically, Danford and Alston (1880) reported the occurrence of the species from Giaour Dagh, near Osmanieh. As already observed by Banoglu (1958), the mountains of Osmanieh extend down to the Lebanon. So these roe deer are not specifically Turkish, and might represent one of the last population still dispersed in the Levant. Between the end of April and the beginning of May 1994, a survey was carried out to supplement current knowledge on the Near—Eastern distribution of roe deer