NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Sambar
Rusa unicolor (Kerr, 1792)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The sambar (Rusa unicolor) is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008, as populations have declined substantially due to hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.
Wikipedia contributors, Sambar deer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:20:56.033519+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Rusa unicolor (Kerr, 1792)
- Name authority
- (Kerr, 1792)
- Common name
- Sambar
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Cervidae
- Genus
- Rusa
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderArtiodactyla Owen, 1848
- familyCervidae Goldfuss, 1820
- subfamilyCervinae Goldfuss, 1820
- tribeCervini Goldfuss, 1820
- genusRusa C. H. Smith, 1827
- speciesRusa unicolor (Kerr, 1792)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Rusa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Philippine Spotted DeerRusa alfredi (P. L. Sclater, 1870) | CervidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Philippine Brown DeerRusa marianna (Desmarest, 1822) | CervidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Javan RusaRusa timorensis (Blainville, 1822) | CervidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cervus unicolor Kerr, 1792 Kerr, 1792 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=898215 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4TQSL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.