CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Altai wapiti

subspecies of elk

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ433766 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Altai wapiti, sometimes called the Altai elk, or simply the Altai deer, is a subspecies of Cervus canadensis found in the forest hills of southern Siberia, northwestern Mongolia, and northern Xinjiang province of China. It is different from the Tian Shan wapiti in being smaller and paler in color.

It has also been classified as C. elaphus sibirica, and is also known as the Altai maral, central maral deer, Siberian red deer, and maral.

Characteristics

The Siberian wapiti is similar to other subspecies of Cervus canadensis in that the adults have a lighter toned torso with darker necks and juveniles have thicker fur on the body.

The adult male Altai wapiti has a recorded shoulder height of up to 155 cm (5.1 ft) and a maximum body weight of 300 kg (661.5 lbs), the female Altai wapiti is significantly smaller. The calf of this wapiti is larger than that of other Asiatic wapitis with a weight of 11 to 22 kg (24 to 48.5 lbs) upon birth.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Altai wapiti” as subspecies of elk. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Altai, wapiti and subspecies.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current 168-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Altai, wapiti and subspecies providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Altai wapiti”, the useful work is to connect “subspecies of elk” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q433766. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Altai wapiti”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Altai wapiti primary sources, Altai wapiti archive and Altai research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Altai wapiti”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Altai wapiti” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.