MammalBase - Accepted taxon: Rangifer tarandus

Accepted taxon: Rangifer tarandus
Taxon:	Rangifer tarandus
Rank:	Species
Higher Classification:	ARTIODACTYLA \| Cervidae \| Capreolinae \| Rangifer
Reference:	Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), JHU Press, 2005.

Fig.1 - Ternary plot of the proximate analysis for the Rangifer tarandus diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 22, ASH (Ash contents) 9, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 48, CP (Crude Protein) 16, EE (Ether Extract) 5. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 1. List of Diet Items for Rangifer tarandus.
TSN Complete name	Part	Ratio ^a.	Reference(s)
Magnoliopsida	SHOOT	17.72	Damuth, J…
Ascomycota	SHOOT	15.87	Damuth, J…
Magnoliopsida	STEM	13.23	Grzimek,B…
Magnoliopsida	LEAF	11.11	Nowak,R. …
Poaceae	STEM	6.08	Damuth, J…
Betula	LEAF	5.56	Grzimek,B…
Fungi	SHOOT	5.56	Grzimek,B…
Magnoliopsida	BARK	4.76	Smith,A. …
Salix	LEAF	4.76	Grzimek,B…
Bryophyta	SHOOT	4.23	Grzimek,B…
Magnoliopsida	BUD	3.17	Grzimek,B…
Eriophorum	LEAF	2.65	Grzimek,B…
Magnoliopsida	FLOWER	2.38	Grzimek,B…
Cyperaceae	LEAF	1.59	Grzimek,B…
Pteridophyta	LEAF	0.79	Smith,A. …
Equisetophyta	SHOOT	0.53	Grzimek,B…

^a. Standardized values. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 2. List of Standard Traits for Rangifer tarandus.
Trait	Selected Value	All Value(s)	Reference(s)
Dietary category: Eisenberg 1981	Herbivore-Mixed feeder	Herbivore-Grazer, Herbivore-Mixed feeder	– A. Mysterud, 2000, 'The relationship between ecological segregation and sexual body size dimorphism in large herbivores', Oecologia, vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 40-54, Brian K. McNab, 1986, 'The Influence of Food Habits on the Energetics of Eutherian Mammals', Ecological Monographs, vol. 56, no. 1, p. 1, Loison,A., 1999, What factors shape sexual size dimorphism in ungulates?, Evolutionary Ecology Research, M. Clauss, R. R. Hofmann, W. J. Streich, J. Fickel, J. Hummel, 2009, 'Convergence in the macroscopic anatomy of the reticulum in wild ruminant species of different feeding types and a new resulting hypothesis on reticular function', Journal of Zoology, vol. 281, no. 1, pp. 26-38, M. Mendoza, P. Palmqvist, 2008, 'Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?', Journal of Zoology, vol. 274, no. 2, pp. 134-142, Marcus Clauss, Matthias Lechner-Doll, Juergen Streich, 2002, 'Faecal particle size distribution in captive wild ruminants: an approach to the browser/grazer dichotomy from the other end', Oecologia, vol. 131, no. 3, pp. 343-349
Dietary category: Miljutin 2009	Herbivore	Herbivore	– A. Mysterud, 2000, 'The relationship between ecological segregation and sexual body size dimorphism in large herbivores', Oecologia, vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 40-54, Brian K. McNab, 1986, 'The Influence of Food Habits on the Energetics of Eutherian Mammals', Ecological Monographs, vol. 56, no. 1, p. 1, Loison,A., 1999, What factors shape sexual size dimorphism in ungulates?, Evolutionary Ecology Research, M. Clauss, R. R. Hofmann, W. J. Streich, J. Fickel, J. Hummel, 2009, 'Convergence in the macroscopic anatomy of the reticulum in wild ruminant species of different feeding types and a new resulting hypothesis on reticular function', Journal of Zoology, vol. 281, no. 1, pp. 26-38, M. Mendoza, P. Palmqvist, 2008, 'Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?', Journal of Zoology, vol. 274, no. 2, pp. 134-142, Marcus Clauss, Matthias Lechner-Doll, Juergen Streich, 2002, 'Faecal particle size distribution in captive wild ruminants: an approach to the browser/grazer dichotomy from the other end', Oecologia, vol. 131, no. 3, pp. 343-349

Table 3. List of Standard Measurements for Rangifer tarandus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	1	1	-	-	-	240,000	-	-	Engelman,…
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	-	-	-	-	-	108,170	-	-	Wimberly,…

Table 4. List of other Measurements ^b. for Rangifer tarandus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Length of the Masseteric Fossa	nan	cm	7	7	-	-	-	15	-	-	Quibod, M…
Muzzle Width	nan	cm	7	7	-	-	-	6	-	-	Quibod, M…
Total Length of the Skull	nan	cm	7	7	-	-	-	34	-	-	Quibod, M…

^b. other Measurements. Source Measurements which are not listed on or mapped with the Standard Traits..

Table 5. List of Data Sources for Rangifer tarandus.
Taxon	Reference	Match	Status
Rangifer tarandus	Mysterud,Atle, 2000, The Relationship between Ecological Segregation and Sexual Body Size Dimorphism in Large Herbivores, Oecologia	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Clauss,M., 2010, Convergence in the macroscopic anatomy of the reticulum in wild ruminant species of different feeding types and a new resulting hypothesis on reticular function, Journal of zoology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Loison,A., 1999, What factors shape sexual size dimorphism in ungulates?, Evolutionary Ecology Research	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Clauss,M., 2002, Faecal particle size distribution in captive wild ruminants: an approach to the browser/grazer dichotomy from the other end, Oecologia	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Mendoza,M., 2008, Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?, Journal of zoology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	McNab,B. K., 1986, The influence of food habits on the energetics of eutherian mammals, Ecological Monographs	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Damuth, J. 2010. ABSOLUT 6 a mammalian database compiled by the national center for ecological analysis and synthesis (NCEAS ) workshop on mammalian communities.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Nowak,R. M., 1991, Walker's mammals of the world,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Grzimek,B., 2003, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I-V,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Smith,A. T., 2010, A guide to the mammals of China,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Nowak,R. M., 1991, Walker's mammals of the world,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Herberstein, M.E., McLean, D.J., Lowe, E., Wolff, J.O., Khan, M.K., Smith, K., Allen, A.P., Bulbert, M., Buzatto, B.A., Eldridge, M.D. and Falster, D., 2022. AnimalTraits-a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size. Scientific Data, 9(1), p.265.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Quibod, M.N.R.M., Gélin, U., van Langevelde, F. and Tomlinson, K.W., 2023. Diet-specific responses of skull traits to aridity gradients in bovids and cervids. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, p.zlad068.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Engelman, R.K., 2022. Occipital condyle width (OCW) is a highly accurate predictor of body mass in therian mammals. BMC biology, 20(1), p.37.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Wimberly, A.N., 2023. Predicting body mass in Ruminantia using postcranial measurements. Journal of Morphology, 284(10), p.e21636.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Rangifer tarandus	Lundgren, E.J., Schowanek, S.D., Rowan, J., Middleton, O., Pedersen, R.Ø., Wallach, A.D., Ramp, D., Davis, M., Sandom, C.J. and Svenning, J.C., 2021. Functional traits of the world’s late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores. Scientific data, 8(1), p.17.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted

Citation for this page: [The MammalBase community 2026. / CC BY 4.0. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7462864 Rangifer tarandus , Accessed 16th April 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/15671]