Alces alces (Linnaeus 1758)

[Cervus] alces Linnaeus 1758, Syst. Nat., 10th ed., Vol. 1: 66.

Type Locality: "Habitat in boroealibus Europae, Asiaeque Populetis"; identified as Sweden by Thomas (1911 a:151) .

Vernacular Names: Eurasian Elk.

Subspecies::

Subspecies Alces alces subsp. alces Linnaeus 1758

Subspecies Alces alces subsp. caucasicus Vereshchagin 1955

Distribution: N Eurasia from Scandinavia, Poland, N Austria, and S Czech Republic (vagrant in Croatia, Hungary, and Romania), east to the Yenisei River (Siberia) and south to Ukraine, N Kazakhstan, N China (N Sinkiang), and possibly adjacent parts of Mongolia; extinct in Caucasus region since 19 th century.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Differs from A. americanus in karyotype, body dimensions and proportions, form of premaxilla, colouration, and structure and dimensions of antlers (Boyeskorov, 1999; Geist, 1998).