Reclassification of the serows and gorals: the end of a neverending story?

Abstract

Taxonomy is partly a subjective matter, but it is instrumental for ecological, behavioural and especially conservation studies. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, goat‐antelopes (Bovidae: Rupicaprini tribe) number 13 species, 62% of which are ‘Threatened’ or ‘Near Threatened’ with extinction. During recent decades, the number of extant species of goat‐antelopes – especially in endemic Asian genera (goral: six species Naemorhedus spp.; serow: seven species Capricornis spp.) – has been inflated. We have revised the taxonomy and phylogeny of the gorals and serows, for the first time using the total mitochondrial genome of all taxa. We confirm the existence of three goral and four serow species. We can find no justification for the existence of Naemorhedus griseus (Chinese goral), Naemorhedus bedfordi (Himalayan goral) and Naemorhedus evansi (Burmese goral), which should be pooled together within Naemorhedus goral (brown goral). Two species of mainland serow are also recognised: Capricornis rubidus (red serow) and Capricornis sumatraensis (Sumatran serow). Capricornis rubidus and Naemorhedus baileyi (red goral) are the forms more closely related to the common Pliocenic, still‐unknown ancestor. Among serows, Capricornis crispus is sister to all remaining species. Capricornis rubidus and Capricornis swinhoei (Formosan serow) are sister species, probably the remnants of an older radiation of mainland serows.

An Assessment of Wildlife Use by Northern Laos Nationals

“…This study is also the first to provide a comprehensive snapshot of other wildlife use, particularly serow. Mainland serow (Capricornis sumatraensis, previously specified as "Chinese serow" [42]) is a medium-sized ungulate found in the mountainous regions of northern Laos, and will shortly be uplisted from "Near Threatened" to "Vulnerable" (S. Lovari, personal communication). In a previous conservation status assessment of serow, a significant threat was noted of serow products being "highly prized" for many uses, including for medicinal purposes [43].…”

Activity Rhythms of Coexisting Red Serow and Chinese Serow at Mt. Gaoligong as Identified by Camera Traps

“…Usually, temporal niche partitioning is very likely occurring between congeneric species occupying the same habitat [1,2,[13][14][15]17]. Given the assumed biological and ecological similarities between red serow and Chinese serow [26][27][28][29][30][31]33,43,48], it was reasonable to expect they exhibiting similar resource demands in diets and habitat utilization in our survey area, which may intensify competition between these co-existing ungulates [1,[13][14][15]. Our findings indicated significant differentiations in activity rhythms and behavior patterns between two congeneric serow species in the wet season (Figures 4C and 5E,G; Table 4), suggesting temporal niche partitioning between two potential competitors [2,17].…”

“…Despite insufficient support in statistics due to limited sample size, red serows exhibited strong tendency to dramatically alter their daily activity patterns than Chinese serows did, while Chinese serows significantly increased their daily activity level when they ranging together. Given the similar body size, solidarity and other ecological traits [26][27][28][29][30][31]33,43,48], it suggested no clear dominance between these two species, unlike other ungulate guilds [7,[9][10][11]16,24,25]. Ranging together could be a potentially useful anti-predator strategy [65], benefiting the survival of generally solitary serows.…”

“…(Caprinae, Tribe Caprini, Bovidae) are medium-sized ungulates inhabiting the rugged montane forests (ranging from 0 to 4500 m above sea level) of eastern and southeastern Asia [26][27][28][29]. Given the disputes in taxonomy, there are anywhere from four to seven sibling species existing in these forests, while distributions of some mainland species may overlap [26][27][28][29][30]. The near-threatened red serow (Capricornis rubidus) (body length: 140-155 cm; shoulder height: 85-95 cm; weight: 110-160 kg) is the most enigmatic serow species [26][27][28][29][30][31][32].…”

“…Given the disputes in taxonomy, there are anywhere from four to seven sibling species existing in these forests, while distributions of some mainland species may overlap [26][27][28][29][30]. The near-threatened red serow (Capricornis rubidus) (body length: 140-155 cm; shoulder height: 85-95 cm; weight: 110-160 kg) is the most enigmatic serow species [26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Its rarity has led to very little information about the basic biology and ecology of the species being collected, and almost nothing is known about its activity rhythms and behavioral patterns [28,29,31].…”