Scientific Classification
Domain: Eukarya
(true nucleus with nuclear envelope and membrane bound organelles)
Kingdom: Animalia
(ingest other organisms to get energy)
Phylum: Chordata
(has a dorsal hollow nerve chord, pharyngeal gill slits and a muscular tail that extends beyond the anus at some point during development)
Class: Mammalia
(has hair or fur, breathes through lungs, produces milk for young)
Order: Artiodactyla
(even number of toes protected by hooves)
Family: Cervidae (has antlers)
Genus: Alces
(all moose species with eight subspecies: alces alces gigas, alces alces andersoni, alces alces Americana, alces alces shirasi, alces alces alces, alces alces pfizenmaryeri, alces alces buturlini and alces alces cameloids
Species: Alces alces
Moose are known around the world by two English words: Moose is the North American version and Elk is the British English version. Regardless of whether you call them Moose or Elk, all moose world-wide belong to the species Alces alces. There are eight sub-species named based on where they are found geographically.
The world zones of moose show that all moose are found in forested areas (coniferous and young mixed forests) with moist conditions (lakes, ponds, streams, swamps) that offer a place to cool down and protection from biting insects, not to mention offering up a food supply. They prefer zones with summer temperatures no greater than 27 c as they do not sweat and produce heat by fermentation in their stomach.
A new argument is being made that the observed differences in moose are explained by differences in their environment and that there are only two subspecies. This is known as an Environmental Classification. In this model there is The European / West Siberian Moose (Alces alces alces) and The East Siberian / North American Moose (Alces alces americanus).
These classes are based on two factors: size and colour. Body size is dependent on the environment. Where food is plentiful animals grow larger. This can be seen in the Alaskan moose that resides where the flora has a long growth period and is plentiful. These moose feast easily and are huge. Above the 65th parallel where summers are short the food supply is not plentiful and the moose tend to be small. Variations in colour can also be attributed to environment. The brighter (sunnier) the environment the more likely the moose has a bright back to keep a high reflectivity of its body in order to not warm up too much.
By contrast to the Alaskan Moose, the Alces alces Americana as the moose species found in the eastern coast of the United States and Canada (Maine, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, central Ontario, Hudson Bay to the Great Lakes and some expansion down to Connecticut). These moose are mahogany-brown in colour and are the smallest of the American sub-species.
Domain: Eukarya
(true nucleus with nuclear envelope and membrane bound organelles)
Kingdom: Animalia
(ingest other organisms to get energy)
Phylum: Chordata
(has a dorsal hollow nerve chord, pharyngeal gill slits and a muscular tail that extends beyond the anus at some point during development)
Class: Mammalia
(has hair or fur, breathes through lungs, produces milk for young)
Order: Artiodactyla
(even number of toes protected by hooves)
Family: Cervidae (has antlers)
Genus: Alces
(all moose species with eight subspecies: alces alces gigas, alces alces andersoni, alces alces Americana, alces alces shirasi, alces alces alces, alces alces pfizenmaryeri, alces alces buturlini and alces alces cameloids
Species: Alces alces
Moose are known around the world by two English words: Moose is the North American version and Elk is the British English version. Regardless of whether you call them Moose or Elk, all moose world-wide belong to the species Alces alces. There are eight sub-species named based on where they are found geographically.
The world zones of moose show that all moose are found in forested areas (coniferous and young mixed forests) with moist conditions (lakes, ponds, streams, swamps) that offer a place to cool down and protection from biting insects, not to mention offering up a food supply. They prefer zones with summer temperatures no greater than 27 c as they do not sweat and produce heat by fermentation in their stomach.
A new argument is being made that the observed differences in moose are explained by differences in their environment and that there are only two subspecies. This is known as an Environmental Classification. In this model there is The European / West Siberian Moose (Alces alces alces) and The East Siberian / North American Moose (Alces alces americanus).
These classes are based on two factors: size and colour. Body size is dependent on the environment. Where food is plentiful animals grow larger. This can be seen in the Alaskan moose that resides where the flora has a long growth period and is plentiful. These moose feast easily and are huge. Above the 65th parallel where summers are short the food supply is not plentiful and the moose tend to be small. Variations in colour can also be attributed to environment. The brighter (sunnier) the environment the more likely the moose has a bright back to keep a high reflectivity of its body in order to not warm up too much.
By contrast to the Alaskan Moose, the Alces alces Americana as the moose species found in the eastern coast of the United States and Canada (Maine, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, central Ontario, Hudson Bay to the Great Lakes and some expansion down to Connecticut). These moose are mahogany-brown in colour and are the smallest of the American sub-species.