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Information about Cervidae

This article is about the ruminant animal. For other uses, see Deer (disambiguation).
“Stag” redirects here. For other uses, see Stag (disambiguation).
Deer
Fossil range: Early Oligocene - Recent
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A white-tail deer

A white-tail deer
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Artiodactyla
Suborder:Ruminantia
Family:Cervidae
Goldfuss, 1820
Subfamilies


Capreolinae/Odocoileinae
Cervinae
Hydropotinae
Muntiacinae
A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also called deer.

Etymology

Depending on their species, male deer are called stags, harts, bucks or bulls, and females are called hinds, does or cows. Young deer are called fawns or calves. A group of deer is commonly called a herd. Hart, from Old English heorot ‘deer’, is a term for a stag, particularly a Red Deer stag past its fifth year. It is not commonly used, but Shakespeare makes several references, punning the sound alike "hart" and "heart" for example in Twelfth Night. "The White Hart" and "The Red Hart" are common English pub names, and the county Hertfordshire is named after them.

The history of the word deer is quite interesting in that it was originally quite broad in meaning and came to be specialized. In Middle English, der (O.E. dēor) meant a beast or animal of any kind. [1] This general sense gave way to the modern sense by the end of the Middle English period, around 1500. The German word tier and the Dutch word dier, cognates of English deer, still have the general sense of "animal." The adjective of relation pertaining to deer is cervine.

Habitat

Deer are widely distributed, and hunted, with indigenous representatives in all continents except Antarctica and Australia. Deer live in a variety of biomes ranging from tundra to the tropical rainforest. While often associated with forests, many deer are ecotone species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets (for cover) and prairie and savanna (open space). The majority of large deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest, and savanna habitats around the world. Clearing open areas within forests to some extent may actually benefit deer populations by exposing the understory and allowing the types of grasses, weeds, and herbs to grow that deer like to eat. However, adequate forest or brush cover must still be provided for populations to grow and thrive.
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Muntjac deer
Small species such as the brocket deer and pudus of Central and South America, and the muntjacs of Asia do occupy dense forests and are less often seen in open spaces. There are also several species of deer that are highly specialized and live almost exclusively in mountains, grasslands, swamps and "wet" savannas, riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. Some deer have a circumpolar distribution in both North America and Eurasia. Examples include the reindeer (caribou) that live in Arctic tundra and taiga (boreal forests) and moose that inhabit taiga and adjacent areas.

The highest concentration of large deer species in temperate North America lies in the Canadian Rocky Mountain and Columbia Mountain Regions between Alberta and British Columbia where all five North American deer species (White-tailed Deer, Mule deer, Caribou, Elk, and Moose) can be found. This is a region that boasts mountain slopes with moist coniferous forests and alpine meadows, and lowlands with a mosaic of cropland and deciduous parklands within vicinity of lakes and rivers. The Caribou live at higher altitudes in the subalpine meadows and alpine tundra areas. The White-tailed Deer have recently expanded their range within the foothills of the Canadian Rockies due to conversion of land to cropland and the clearing of coniferous forests allowing more deciduous vegetation to grow.
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Large male Alaskan Reindeer.
The highest concentration of large deer species in temperate Asia occurs in the mixed deciduous forests, mountain coniferous forests, and taiga bordering North Korea, Manchuria (Northeastern China), and the Ussuri Region (Russia). These are among some of the richest deciduous and coniferous forests in the world where one can find Siberian Roe Deer, Sika Deer, Caribou, Elk, and Moose. Just south of this region in China, one can find the unusual Pere David's Deer. Deer such as the Sika Deer, Thorold's Deer, Central Asian Red Deer, and Elk have historically been farmed for their antlers by Han Chinese, Turkic peoples, Tungusic peoples, Mongolians, and Koreans. Like the Sami people of Finland and Scandinavia, the Tungusic peoples, Mongolians, and Turkic peoples of Southern Siberia, Northern Mongolia, and the Ussuri Region have also taken to raising semi-domesticated herds of caribou.

The highest concentration of large deer species in the tropics occurs in Southern Asia and Southeast Asia in the Countries of India, Nepal, and at one time, Thailand. Northern India's Indo-Gangetic Plain Region and Nepal's Terai Region consist of tropical seasonal moist deciduous, dry deciduous forests, and both dry and wet savannas that are home to Chital, Hog Deer, Barasingha, Indian Sambar, and Indian Muntjac. Just slightly north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain is the Vale of Kashmir, home to the rare Kashmir Stag, a subspecies of Central Asian Red Deer. The Chao Praya River Valley of Thailand was once primarily tropical seasonal moist deciduous forest and wet savanna that hosted populations of Hog Deer, Schomburgk's Deer (now extinct), Eld's Deer, Indian Sambar, and Indian Muntjac. Today, both the Barasingha and Eld's Deer are endangered or rare. The Hog Deer populations in Thailand are also rare. Chital and Barasingha live in large herds, and Indian sambar may also be found in large groups. How all these deer can co-exist in one area is due to the fact that they prefer different types of vegetation for food. These deer also share their habitat with various herbivores such as Asian elephants, various antelope species (in India), and wild oxen.
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Fallow Deer
Central and South America host various smaller brocket deer species, and Southeastern Asia hosts various smaller muntjac species. Unlike the larger deer species mentioned above, these deer species are rather solitary and tend to hide in dense cover and have lower population densities.

Australia has six introduced species of deer that have established sustainable wild populations from Acclimatisation Society releases in the 19th Century. These are Fallow Deer, Red Deer, Sambar Deer, Hog Deer, Rusa deer, and Chital Deer. Red Deer introduced into New Zealand in 1851 from English and Scottish stock were domesticated in deer farms by the late 1960s and are common farm animals there now. Seven other species of deer were introduced into New Zealand but none are as widespread as Red Deer.[1]

Physical characteristics, diet, and reproduction

Deer differ from other ruminants in that they have antlers instead of horns. Antlers are bony growths that develop each year (usually in summer) and, in general, it is only male deer that develop them (although there are exceptions). A young buck's first pair of antlers grow from two tiny bumps on their head that they have had from birth. The antlers grow wrapped in a thick layer of velvet and remain that way for several months, until the bone inside is hard; later the velvet is torn away (not shed contrary to popular belief). The one way that many hunters are able to track main paths that the deer travel on is because of their "rubs". A rub is used to deposit scent from glands near the eye and forehead and physically mark territory. Deer also have a Tapetum lucidum which gives them sufficiently good night vision. During the mating season, bucks use their antlers to fight one another for the opportunity to attract mates in a given herd. The two bucks circle each other, bend back their legs, lower their heads, and charge.
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Female Wapiti nursing young
A doe generally has one or two fawns at a time (triplets, while not unknown, are uncommon). The gestation period is anywhere up to ten months for the European roe deer. Most fawns are born with their fur covered with white spots, though they lose their spots once they get older (excluding the Fallow Deer who keeps its spots for life). In the first twenty minutes of a fawn's life, the fawn begins to take its first steps. Its mother licks it clean until it is almost free of scent, so predators will not find it. Its mother leaves often, and the fawn does not like to be left behind. Sometimes its mother must gently push it down with her foot. The fawn stays hidden in the grass for one week until it is strong enough to walk with its mother. The fawn and its mother stay together for about one year. A male usually never sees his mother again, but females sometimes come back with their own fawns and form small herds.
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Fawn
Deer generally have lithe, compact bodies and long, powerful legs suited for rugged woodland terrain. Deer are also excellent swimmers. Their lower cheek teeth have crescent ridges of enamel, which enable them to grind a wide variety of vegetation. Deer are ruminants or cud-chewers and have a four-chambered stomach. Nearly all deer have a facial gland in front of each eye. The gland contains a strongly scented pheromone, used to mark its home range. Bucks of a wide range of species open these glands wide when angry or excited. All deer have a liver without a gallbladder. The Chinese water deer is the only species that differs from others in that they have no antlers and bear upper canines developed into tusks.

Deer are selective feeders. They are usually browsers, and primarily feed on leaves. They have small, unspecialized stomachs by herbivore standards, and high nutrition requirements. Rather than attempt to digest vast quantities of low-grade, fibrous food as, for example, sheep and cattle do, deer select easily digestible shoots, young leaves, fresh grasses, soft twigs, fruit, fungi, and lichens.

Antlers

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White-tailed deer


All male deer have antlers that are shed and regrown each year from a structure called a pedicle. Sometimes a female will have a small stub. The only female deer with antlers are Reindeer (Caribou). Antlers grow as highly vascular spongy tissue covered in a skin called velvet. Before the beginning of a species' mating season, the antlers calcify under the velvet and become hard. The velvet is then torn away leaving hard bone antlers. After the mating season, the pedicle and the antler base are separated by a layer of tissue, and the antler falls off.

Each species has its own characteristic antler structure, e.g. each white-tailed deer antler includes a series of tines sprouting upward from a forward-curving main beam. Mule deer (and black-tailed deer), species within the same genus as the white-tailed deer, instead have bifurcated (or branched) antlers -- that is, the main beam splits into two, each of which may split into two more.[2]

For Wapiti and Red Deer, a stag having 14 points is an "imperial", and a stag having 12 points is a "royal". If the antlers deviate from the species' normal antler structure, the deer is considered a non-typical deer.

Economic significance

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"The Stag Hunt of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony" by Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Deer have long had economic significance to humans. Deer meat, for which they are hunted and farmed, is called venison. Deer organ meat is called umble. See humble pie.

Musk, which comes from the gland on the abdomen of musk deer, is used in medicines and perfumes. Deerskin is used for shoes, boots, and gloves, and antlers are made into buttons and knife handles.

The Saami of Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula of Russia and other nomadic peoples of northern Asia used reindeer for food, clothing, and transport.

The caribou is not domesticated or herded as is the case in Europe but is important to the Inuit. Most commercial venison in the United States is imported from New Zealand.

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Nicholas Mavrogenes, Phanariote Prince of Wallachia, riding through Bucharest in a deer−drawn carriage (late 1780s)
Deer were originally brought to New Zealand by European settlers, and the deer population rose rapidly. This caused great environmental damage and was controlled by hunting and poisoning until the concept of deer farming developed in the 1960s. Deer farms in New Zealand number more than 3,500, with more than 400,000 deer in all.

Automobile collisions with deer impose a significant cost on the economy. In the U.S., about 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions occur each year in, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those accidents cause about 150 deaths and $1.1 billion in property damage annually.[3]

Taxonomy

Note that the terms indicate the origin of the groups, not their modern distribution: the water deer, for example, is a New World species but is found only in China and Korea.

It is thought that the new world group evolved about 5 million years ago in the forests of North America and Siberia, the old world deer in Asia.

Subfamilies, genera and species

The family Cervidae is organized as follows:
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Pudú, the smallest species of deer in the world

Hybrid deer

In Origin of Species (1859) Charles Darwin wrote "Although I do not know of any thoroughly well-authenticated cases of perfectly fertile hybrid animals, I have some reason to believe that the hybrids from Cervulus vaginalis and Reevesii [...] are perfectly fertile." These two varieties of muntjac are currently considered the same species.

A number of deer hybrids are bred to improve meat yield in farmed deer. American Elk (or Wapiti) and Red Deer from the Old World can produce fertile offspring in captivity, and were once considered one species. Hybrid offspring, however, must be able to escape and defend themselves against predators, and these hybrid offspring are unable to do so in the wild state. Recent DNA, animal behavior studies, and morphology and antler characteristics have shown there are not one but three species of Red Deer: European Red Deer, Central Asian Red Deer, and American Elk or Wapiti. (The European Elk is a different species and is known as moose in North America.) The hybrids are about 30% more efficient in producing antler by comparing velvet to body weight. Wapiti have been introduced into some European Red Deer herds to improve the Red Deer type, but not always with the intended improvement.

In New Zealand, where deer are introduced species, there are hybrid zones between Red Deer and North American Wapiti populations and also between Red Deer and Sika Deer populations. In New Zealand Red Deer have been artificially hybridized with Pere David Deer in order to create a farmed deer which gives birth in spring. The initial hybrids were created by artificial insemination and back-crossed to Red Deer. However, such hybrid offspring can only survive in captivity free of predators.

In Canada, the farming of European Red Deer and Red Deer hybrids is considered a threat to native Wapiti. In Britain, the introduced Sika Deer is considered a threat to native Red Deer. Initial Sika Deer/Red Deer hybrids occur when young Sika stags expand their range into established red deer areas and have no Sika hinds to mate with. They mate instead with young Red hinds and produce fertile hybrids. These hybrids mate with either Sika or Red Deer (depending which species is prevalent in the area), resulting in mongrelization. Many of the Sika Deer which escaped from British parks were probably already hybrids for this reason. These hybrids do not properly inherit survival strategies and can only survive in either a captive state or when there are no predators.

In captivity, Mule Deer have been mated to White-tail Deer. Both male Mule Deer/female White-tailed Deer and male White-tailed Deer/female Mule Deer matings have produced hybrids. Less than 50% of the hybrid fawns survived their first few months. Hybrids have been reported in the wild but are disadvantaged because they don't properly inherit survival strategies. Mule Deer move with bounding leaps (all 4 hooves hit the ground at once, also called "stotting") to escape predators. Stotting is so specialized that only 100% genetically pure Mule Deer seem able to do it. In captive hybrids, even a one-eighth White-tail/seven-eighths Mule Deer hybrid has an erratic escape behaviour and would be unlikely to survive to breeding age. Hybrids do survive on game ranches where both species are kept and where predators are controlled by man.

Impact on popular culture

Heraldry

Deer are represented in heraldry by the stag or hart (or less often by the hind). Stag's heads and antlers also appear as charges.

Examples can be found in the arms of Hertfordshire and its county town of Hertford, both examples of canting arms (a heraldic pun).

Several Norwegian municipalities have a stag or stag's head in their arms: Gjemnes, Hitra, Hjartdal and Voss.

A deer appears on the arms of the Israeli Postal Authority (see Hebrew Wikipedia page )




Arms of Hertfordshire, England

Arms of Raon aux Bois, France

Arms of Dotternhausen, Germany

Arms of Thierachern, Switzerland

Arms of Friolzheim, Germany

Arms of Bauen, Switzerland

Arms of Albstadt, Germany

Arms of the Earls Bathurst

Arms of Gjemnes, Norway

Arms of Hitra, Norway

Arms of Hjartdal, Norway

Arms of Voss, Norway


Literature and art

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Resting Deer. Moche Culture (Peru) Larco Museum Collection
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"Nature and Appearance of Deer, and how they can be hunted with Dogs," taken from "Livre du Roy Modus," created in the 14th century

See also

References

1. ^ Deer An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966
2. ^ The phylogenetic position of the 'giant deer' Megaloceros giganteus. Letter in Nature 438, 850-853 (8 December 2005)
3. ^ Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.

External links

 •  • [ e]
Heraldic creatures
BeastsBear • Boar • Bull • Camelopard • Hind • Lion • Ox • Stag • Tiger • Wolf
BirdsCock • Dove • Eagle • Martlet • Phoenix • Pelican • Rook
Fabulous creaturesAlce • Basilisk • Cockatrice • Dragon • Griffin • Keythong • Manticore • Opinicus • Phoenix • Unicorn • Wyvern
FishDolphin • Ged • Luce • Scallop
Creeping thingsBee • Biscione • Cockatrice • Crapaudy • Emmet • Salamander • Serpent
A deer is a ruminant mammal.

Deer may also refer to:
  • Deer (band), a Melbourne band
  • The Deer, a newspaper by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda

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A stag is a mature male deer.

Stag may also refer to:
  • Stag (The Melvins album), a 1996 album by The Melvins
  • Stag (Amy Ray album), a 2001 album by Amy Ray
  • San Sebastian Stags, of San Sebastian College - Recoletos of Manila

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The Oligocene epoch is a geologic period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Artiodactyla*
Owen, 1848

Families

Antilocapridae
Bovidae
Camelidae
Cervidae
Giraffidae
Hippopotamidae
Moschidae
Suidae
Tayassuidae
Tragulidae
Leptochoeridae †
Dichobunidae †
Cebochoeridae †
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Ruminantia
Scopoli, 1777

Families

 Tragulidae
 Moschidae
 Cervidae
 Giraffidae
 Antilocapridae
 Bovidae
The biological suborder Ruminantia
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Georg August Goldfuss (April 18, 1782 – October 2, 1848) was a German palaeontologist and zoologist.

Goldfuss was born at Thurnau near Bayreuth, was educated at Erlangen, where he graduated Ph.D. in 1804 and became professor of zoology in 1818.
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Capreolinae
Brookes, 1828

Genera

Alces Blastocerus Capreolus Hippocamelus Mazama Odocoileus Ozotoceros Pudu Rangifer

Capreolinae is a subfamily of deer.
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Cervidae
Goldfuss, 1820

Subfamilies

Capreolinae/Odocoileinae
Cervinae
Hydropotinae
Muntiacinae

A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae.
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Hydropotinae

Genus: Hydropotes

Species: H. inermis

Binomial name
Hydropotes inermis
(Swinhoe, 1870)
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Ruminantia

Families

Antilocapridae
Bovidae
Cervidae
Giraffidae
Moschidae
Tragulidae

A ruminant is any animal that digests its food in two steps, first by eating the raw material and regurgitating a semi-digested form known as cud,
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Code which applies.
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order (Latin: ordo, plural ordines) is a rank between class and family (termed a taxon at that rank). The superorder is a rank between class and order. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Code which applies.
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Artiodactyla*
Owen, 1848

Families

Antilocapridae
Bovidae
Camelidae
Cervidae
Giraffidae
Hippopotamidae
Moschidae
Suidae
Tayassuidae
Tragulidae
Leptochoeridae †
Dichobunidae †
Cebochoeridae †
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Old English/Anglo-Saxon}}}
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: ang
ISO 639-3: ang Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon[1], Englisc
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C. elaphus

Binomial name
Cervus elaphus
Linnaeus, 1758

Range of Cervus elaphus


The Red Deer (Cervus elaphus
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William Shakespeare

The Chandos portrait, artist and authenticity unconfirmed. National Portrait Gallery, London.
Born: April 1564 (exact date unknown)
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Died: 23 March 1616
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
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Twelfth Night, or What You Will is a comedy by William Shakespeare, named after the Twelfth Night holiday of the Christmas season.

Date and text

Twelfth Night
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Pub may refer to:
  • A public house, shortened to pub
  • PUB (Stockholm), department store in Stockholm
  • Pub (album), a 1994 album by British band Denzil
PUB may stand for:
  • The Public Utilities Board of Singapore

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(pronounced [ˈhɑːtfʊdʃə] or [ˈhɑːʔfʊdʃə
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Etymology is the study of the history of words - when they entered a language, from what source, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.

In languages with a long written history, etymology makes use of philology, the study of how words change from culture to
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Specialization, also spelled Specialisation, is an important way to generate propositional knowledge, by applying general knowledge, such as the theory of gravity, to specific instances, such as "when I release this apple, it will fall to the floor".
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Middle English}}}
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: enm
ISO 639-3: enm

Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion of 1066
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Old English/Anglo-Saxon}}}
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: ang
ISO 639-3: ang Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon[1], Englisc
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Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled until (UTC) due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or
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German language (Deutsch, ] (help info ) ) is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
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