🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
しかー【鹿】 : shikaa | define meaning
shikaa
Pronunciation: [ɕikaː]
Definition
Noun
- A deer, especially of the species cervus nippon, otherwise known as the Sika Deer, the Spotted Deer or the Japanese Deer.
Etymology
Cognate to standard Japanese しか【鹿】 shika "deer".
Notes
The Kerama Islands located southwest of Okinawa Island are host to the most endangered subspecies of the Sika Deer and the only species of deer within the Ryukyu Islands, the Kerama Deer (cervus nippon keramae). The Kerama Deer is most closely related to the Sika Deer populations of Tanegashima, Mageshima, Yakushima, Kuchinoerabujima and Kyushu. It is likely that the deer were introduced to the Kerama Islands from Kyushu some time during the 17th century. (Hidetoshi B. Tamate et al. Mitochondrial DNA Variations in Local Populations of the Japanese Sika Deer, Cervus nippon. Journal of Mammology. Vol. 79, No. 4, November 1998. 1396-1403.)
意味：しか【鹿】