The red brocket (''Mazama americana'') is a species of

brocket deer Brockets or brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus ''Mazama''. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forest ...

from forests in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

, ranging from northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

to Colombia and the Guianas. It also occurs on the Caribbean island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

(it also occurred on the island of

Tobago Tobago () is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It also lies to the southeast of Grenada. The offici ...

until very recent historical times, but has been extirpated there).

Taxonomy

It formerly included the Central American red brocket (''M. temama'') and sometimes the Yucatan brown brocket (''M. pandora'') as subspecies. Considerable taxonomic confusion still exists for the populations remaining in the red brocket. Pending a solution to this, it has been evaluated as data deficient by the IUCN, though as presently defined, it is the most widespread species of brocket. It is sympatric with the smaller

Amazonian brown brocket The Amazonian brown brocket (''Mazama nemorivaga''), also known as the small brown brocket, is a small species of deer that is almost entirely restricted to South America. Distribution and habitat It is known from Panama (in Isla San José of th ...

over much of its range (the latter tends to have significantly lower population densities). The

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

of the red brocket was initially described as having 2n = 68, FN = 74, and more recently as having 2n varying from 48 to 54 and FN varying from 54 to 56. This variability may indicate the presence of unrecognized species in the population.

Description

Its body is reddish-brown in color, with a lighter grayish-brown head and neck, and partially blackish legs.Trolle, M., and L. H. Emmons (2004). ''A record of a dwarf brocket from lowland Madre de Dios, Peru.'' Deer Specialist Group Newsletter 19: 2–5 The inner thighs and the underside of the tail are white. Fawns are spotted white and lack blackish to the legs. Only the adult male has antlers, and these are small and spike-like. This species is the largest of the brockets. The shoulder height is and the head and body length . These deer typically weigh , but exceptional males may get as large as .

Diet and behaviour

The red brocket browses on vegetation (mainly grasses and tender green roots), preferring fruit and seeds when it is available. They are also known to feed on fungi. In extreme cases where fruit and fungi become scarce, it may eat stems, bark, petioles, leaves, and animal matter instead. It is generally solitary and stays in dense jungles. When alarmed, the animal snorts or stomps its hooves.

Gallery

File:Mazama americana.jpg, Mazama americana File:Red Brocket (Mazama americana).jpg, Red brocket heart, specimen clarified for visualization of anatomical structures File:PZSL1850PlateMammalia24.png

References

Bibliography

* Emmons, L.H. (1997). ''Neotropical Rainforest Mammals'', 2nd ed. University of Chicago Press

External links

Images and information
@ Arthurgrosset.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q1763357 Mazama (genus) Taxa named by Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben Mammals of the Caribbean Mammals of Argentina Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Colombia Mammals of Ecuador Mammals of French Guiana Mammals of Guyana Mammals of Paraguay Mammals of Peru Mammals of Suriname Mammals of Trinidad and Tobago Mammals of Venezuela Fauna of the Amazon Fauna of the Cerrado Mammals described in 1777