Fallow deer

The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word or , used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes, lies at the root of the modern scientific name, as well as the German , French , Dutch ', and Italian '. In Serbo-Croatian, 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 (). == Description ==

The Persian fallow deer is the larger of the two living species, with an average body mass around , with the European fallow deer having an average body mass around . == Ecology ==

The diet of the European fallow deer has been described as highly flexible, able to adapt to local conditions. In Britain, it has been observed to primarily feed on grass in summer and acorns and other mast during the autumn and early winter, as well as on shrubs and trees. Palaeoecology Early Pleistocene fossils of Dama-like deer from Pirro Nord indicate that they were feeding on water stressed C3 plants based on their bioapatite δ13C ratios. ==Taxonomy and evolution==

The genus includes two extant species: Extant species Some taxonomists classify the Persian fallow deer as a subspecies (D. d. mesopotamica), while others, such as the IUCN, treat it as a separate species (D. mesopotamica). Based on genetic evidence, Dama is considered to be closest living relative of the extinct genus Megaloceros. The circumscription of the genus is uncertain, with some authors choosing to include taxa that are otherwise placed in the genus Pseudodama, which may be ancestral to Dama. depending on the species included in the genus. The relationships of most Dama species to each other and to other fossil deer are controversial, with no overall consensus on their relationships, aside the close relationship of D. clactoniana with the living Dama species. The earliest Dama species lack palmate (broad and flattened) antlers, with this trait only developing in D. pelleponesica, D. clactoniana, and the two living species. Extinct species, based on van der Made et al. 2023: • Dama vallonnetensis known from the Early Pleistocene of Europe, • Dama farnetensis known from the Early Pleistocene of Europe, • Dama celiae known from the Middle Pleistocene of Spain}}}}}} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}}}}}}}}}}}}}|label1=Cervidae}} ==References==