Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Reindeer Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Rangifer Species: tarandus Binomial name Rangifer tarandus The reindeer is an Arctic-dwelling deer (Rangifer tarandus), otherwise known as caribou. Economically important herds in the north of the Old World have become less important. Popular Christmas myth has it that they are used by Santa Claus to move his sleigh around during his trip to distribute toys to children on the night before Christmas. Because of this, they are often associated with the holiday. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.