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Mainland serow is an endanged artiodactyl of southern Anhui province, China, that is often subject to poaching. To provide an easy, rapid and reliable marker for identification of bushmeat, skin and other tissues of the species, we developed a sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) based on a species-specific random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker. Initially, a 1012-bp species-specific DNA fragment of mainland serow was detected by a RAPD primer S1193. Then, a serow-specific primer pair (SCF/SCR) was designed according to the specific RAPD fragment, resulting in a 438-bp SCAR for the species. Finally, the reliability of the SCAR primers was tested by a common multiplex polymerase chain reaction using the combination of the SCAR and cyt b universal primers. The results that all mainland serow samples presented two target bands but the others failed to produce the SCAR indicated that the designed primers were highly diagnostic. Therefore, the SCAR probe developed in this study will be useful for quick authentication of mainland serow tissue samples for conservation biology and bushmeat regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]