Bearded Ladies Serows are larger and stronger than gorals and better adapted to humid air. Their long, mule-like ears are narrow, pointed and tasseled, and usually longer than their short, black horns. Both males and females have cheek beards extending from the corners of their mouths to the bases of their ears. Coat color varies greatly by region. Mainland serows have short beards, a long, heavy mane and less bushy tails than Japanese and Taiwanese serows.
Japanese serows have conspicuous white cheek beards, but thin or no manes.
With longer, thicker and more woolly coats and shorter ears than Mainland serows, they can tolerate lower temperatures and heavier snowfall. Their underparts are whitish and their legs are blackish-brown. Resource Defenders Serows are resource defenders and reflect the ancestral body plan of all Caprinae. Resource defenders are more primitive, tend to be solitary and territorial, and live in small areas of highly productive and diverse habitats which are easily defended. Fossil Caprinae dating back 35 million years closely resemble serows.