Subspecies
In 1961 the reindeer classification was divided into two major groups, the tundra reindeer (with six subspecies) and the woodland reindeer (with three subspecies). Some of the tundra's subspecies are small-bodied, high-Arctic island forms. These island subspecies are probably not closely related, since the Svalbard reindeer seems to have evolved from large European reindeer, whereas Peary caribou and the extinct Arctic reindeer are closely related and probably evolved in high-Arctic North America.
The following is a partial list; four subspecies which are restricted to Russia and neighbouring regions have been left out. These are R. tarandus buskensis, R. tarandus pearsoni (Novaya Zemlya reindeer), R. tarandus phylarchus (Kamchatka/Okhotsk reindeer) and R. tarandus sibiricus (Siberian Tundra reindeer).
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