Belonging to a group known as the goat-antelopes, the Sumatran serow is a rather small-bodied animal (4), with dark upperparts and whitish underparts (2) (4). The hair of the coat is long and coarse, and a long mane of white, brown or black occurs on the neck (2) (4). Male and female serows are similar in appearance (4), with both bearing stout, slightly curved horns which can be used to defend themselves to deadly effect (2). The long ears are narrow and pointed, the face bears large scent glands below the eyes, and the tail is fairly bushy (2). A number of subspecies of serow were previously recognised, but are now considered full species. However, the taxonomy of the serow is not resolved and further research is needed