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The reindeer (''Rangifer tarandus''), also known as caribou in North America,〔 is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, Subarctic, tundra, boreal and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America.〔 This includes both sedentary and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and at least one has already gone extinct. Reindeer vary considerably in colour and size. In most populations, both sexes grow antlers annually, but females lack antlers in a few. Antlers are typically larger on males. Hunting of wild reindeer and herding of semi-domesticated reindeer (for meat, hides, antlers, milk and transportation) are important to several Arctic and Subarctic peoples.〔"In North America and Eurasia the species has long been an important resource—in many areas ''the'' most important resource—for peoples inhabiting the northern boreal forest and tundra regions. Known human dependence on caribou/wild reindeer has a long history, beginning in the Middle Pleistocene (Banfield 1961:170; Kurtén 1968:170) and continuing to the present.... The caribou/wild reindeer is thus an animal that has been a major resource for humans throughout a tremendous geographic area and across a time span of tens of thousands of years." 〕 In parts of Sápmi, reindeer pull pulks. In Christmas folklore, Santa Claus's flying reindeer are well known for pulling his sleigh. ==Name etymology== The name ''Rangifer'', which Linnaeus chose for the reindeer genus, was used by Albertus Magnus in his ''De animalibus'', fol. Liber 22, Cap. 268: "Dicitur Rangyfer quasi ramifer". This word may go back to a Saami word ''raingo''.〔 For the origin of the word ''tarandus'', which Linnaeus chose as the specific epithet, he made reference to Ulisse Aldrovandi's ''Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia'' fol. 859–863, Cap. 30: De Tarando (1621). However, Aldrovandi – and before him Konrad Gesner〔Gesner, K. (1617) ''Historia animalium. Liber 1, De quadrupedibus viviparis''. Tiguri 1551. p. 156: De Tarando. 9. 950: De Rangifero.〕 – thought that ''rangifer'' and ''tarandus'' were two separate animals.〔Aldrovandi, U. (1621) ''Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia''. Bononiæ. Cap. 30: De Tarando– Cap. 31: De Rangifero.〕 In any case, the ''tarandos'' name goes back to Aristotle and Theophrastus – see 'In history' below. Because of its importance to many cultures, ''Rangifer tarandus'' and some of its subspecies have names in many languages. The name ''rein'' (-deer) is of Norse origin (Old Norse ''hreinn'', which again goes back to Proto-Germanic *hrainaz and Proto-Indo-European *kroinos meaning "horned animal"). In the Uralic languages, Sami *poatsoj (in Northern Sami ''boazu'', in Lule Sami ''boatsoj'', in Pite Sami ''båtsoj'', in Southern Sami ''bovtse''), Meadow Mari ''pücö'' and Udmurt ''pudžej'', all referring to domesticated reindeer, go back to *pocaw, an Iranian loan word deriving from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu-, meaning "cattle". The Finnish name ''poro'' may also stem from the same.〔Koivulehto, Jorma (2007) (Saamen ja suomen 'poro' ). Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne 253.〕 The name caribou comes, through French, from Mi'kmaq ''qalipu'', meaning "snow shoveler", referring to its habit of pawing through the snow for food.〔Flexner, Stuart Berg and Leonore Crary Hauck, eds. (1987). ''The Random House Dictionary of the English Language'', 2nd ed. (unabridged). New York: Random House, pp. 315–16〕 In Inuktitut, spoken in eastern Arctic North America, the caribou is known by the name ''tuktu''.〔Spalding, Alex, ''Inuktitut – A Multi-Dialectal Outline Dictionary (with an Aivilingmiutaq base)''. Nunavut Arctic College, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, 1998.〕〔''Eskimoisches Wörterbuch, gesammelt von den Missionaren in Labrador, revidirt und herausgegeben von Friedrich Erdmann''. Budissin (Bautzen ) 1864.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Reindeer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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