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Red deer stag in front of a herd of hinds

Deer

The deer family (Cervidae) contains 44 living species, including the moose, muntjac and caribou. The males of all species of deer except the Chinese water deer have antlers. In caribou, both sexes have antlers.

Scientific name: Cervidae

Rank: Family

Distribution

Map showing the distribution of the Deer taxa

The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

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Prehistoric life

When they lived

Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.

About

Deer (singular and plural) are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, mule deer such as black-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer (caribou), fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species (except the Chinese water deer) and also female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year. In this they differ from permanently horned animals such as antelope; these are in the same order as deer and may bear a superficial resemblance. The musk deer of Asia and water chevrotain (or mouse deer) of tropical African and Asian forests are not usually regarded as true deer and form their own families, Moschidae and Tragulidae, respectively.

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