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Life Of Siberian Reindeer Herders, Yamal, Russia.
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Name etymology
The name rangifer, which Linnaeus chose as the name for the reindeer genus, was used by Albertus Magnus in his De animalibus, fol. Liber 22, Cap. 268: "Dicitur Rangyfer quasi ramifer". This word may go back to a Saami word raingo. For the origin of the word tarandus, which Linnaeus chose as the species epithet, he made reference to Ulisse Aldrovandi's Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia fol. 859—863, Cap. 30: De Tarando (1621). However, Aldrovandi - and before him Konrad Gesner - thought that rangifer and tarandus were two separate animals. In any case, the tarandos name goes back to Aristotle and Theophrastus.
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