Fallow deer
genus of mammals
Fallow deer is the common name for species of deer in the genus Dama of subfamily Cervinae. The two living species are the European fallow deer (Dama dama), native to Europe and Anatolia, and the Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica), native to the Middle East. The European species has been widely introduced elsewhere.
Name
The name fallow is derived from the deer's pale brown colour. The Latin word dāma or damma, used for roe deer, gazelles, and antelopes, lies at the root of the modern scientific name, as well as the German Damhirsch, French daim, Dutch damhert, and Italian daino. In Serbo-Croatian, the name for the fallow deer is jelen lopatar ("shovel deer"), due to the form of its antlers. The Modern Hebrew name of the fallow deer is yachmur (יחמור).
Description
The Persian fallow deer is the larger of the two living species, with an average body mass around 70–140 kg (150–310 lb), and a shoulder height around 80–110 cm (31–43 in) with the European fallow deer having an average body mass around 35–80 kg (77–176 lb). The living fallow deer species have antlers that have flattened (palmate) ends, with the palmate section being somewhat narrower in the antlers of Persian fallow deer. The only other cervid to possess palmate antlers are moose; all others exhibit dendritic antlers.
“Fallow deer” enters the record as genus of mammals. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Fallow, deer and genus can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q912336.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fallow deer” 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.