Within the red deer species group, some sources have recommended the Central Asian red deer should be treated as a species. If the Central Asian red deer (from the Caspian Sea to western China) is recognized as a species, it includes the Yarkand deer and Bactrian deer (the two may be synonymous), but it could possibly also include the Kashmir stag, which has not been sampled in recent studies. If it is included in the Central Asian red deer, the scientific name of that species is "C. hanglu". If it is not included, the scientific name of that species is "C. yarkandensis", and the Kashmir stag ("C. hanglu") may represent a separate monotypic species.