deer
A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
in the genus ''Mazama''. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
, and the island of
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
. Most species are primarily found in forests. They are superficially similar to the African
duiker
A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophinae ...
s and the Asian
muntjac
Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small deer of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, ...
s, but only distantly related. About 10 species of brocket deer are described.
The
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
name ''Mazama'' is derived from
Nahuatl
Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...
''mazame'', the plural of ''mazatl'' "deer". The common English name "brocket" (from French ''brocart'' < ''broche'', spindle) comes from the word for a stag in its second year, with unbranched antlers.
Taxonomy
The
taxonomy
image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy
Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
among ''Mazama'' species has changed significantly in the last decades, and as recently as 1999, some authorities only recognized four species.Nowak, R. M. (eds) (1999). ''Walker's Mammals of the World.'' 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press. These four "species", ''M. americana'', ''M. gouazoubira'', ''M. rufina'', and ''M. chunnyi'', included several distinct populations that subsequently were elevated to species status, resulting in a total of nine different species being recognized in ''
Mammal Species of the World
''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...
'' in 2005. A tenth species, ''M. nemorivaga'', has traditionally been included in ''M. gouazoubira'', but this was shown to be mistaken in 2000.Rossi, R. V. (2000). ''Taxonomia de Mazama Rafinesque, 1817 do Brasil (Artiodactyla, Cervidae).'' M.Sc. Thesis, Universidade de São Paulo. ''M. nemorivaga'' was not recognized as a separate species in ''Mammal Species of the World'', but this was apparently in error. Yet another species, the fair brocket (''M. tienhoveni''), has recently been described from the lower Amazon basin. What may be an undescribed small species of brocket with a reddish coat and blackish legs has been photographed in the lowlands of Manú National Park in
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, and based on sight records may also occur in northwestern
Bolivia
Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
, and that the Odocoileini dispersed to North America during the Miocene/
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Odocoileus'' and ''Mazama americana'', is distributed in North, Central, and South America, whereas the second is composed of South American species only and includes ''Mazama gouazoubira''. This implies that the genus ''Mazama'' is not a monophyletic taxon. Genetic analysis reveals high levels of molecular and cytogenetic divergence between groups of morphologically similar species of brockets (''Mazama'') and suggests a
polyphyletic
A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...
origin. In particular, ''M. americana'' showed a striking kinship with ''Odocoileus'' on the basis of several DNA sequences, in contrast to that expected, since this ''M. americana'' (now ''M. temama'')
haplotype
A haplotype (haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent.
Many organisms contain genetic material (DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA orga ...
, of Mexican origin, was not close to several Bolivian ''Mazama'' sequences analyzed. Thus, ''Mazama'' as traditionally circumscribed may not be
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
Depending on species, brocket deer are small to medium-sized with stout bodies and large ears. The head-and-body length is , the shoulder height is , and the typical weight , though exceptionally large ''M. americana'' specimens have weighed as much as . When present, the
antler
Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) Family (biology), family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally fo ...
s are small, simple spikes. The
pelage
A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
varies from reddish to brown to gray. Very roughly, the species can be divided into four groups based on size, color, and habitat (but not necessarily matching their
phylogeny
A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...
):
* ''M. americana'' and ''M. temama'' are usually found in forest. They are relatively large to medium brocket deer with a reddish to reddish-brown pelage. The head, neck, and legs are often grayish or blackish.
* ''M. gouazoubira'', ''M. nemorivaga'', and ''M. pandora'' are found in forest, woodland, and
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
. They are medium-sized with a brownish to grayish pelage and pale underparts.
* ''M. nana'', ''M. bricenii'', ''M. chunyi'', and ''M. rufina'' are found in forest and high-altitude grassland (''M. nana'' in Atlantic forest; the remaining species in
Andean
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...
páramo
Páramo () may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...
). They are medium to small in size, and the pelage is reddish. In most, a part of the legs and the upper part of the head are blackish or dark gray, but in ''M. chunyi'', the foreparts and neck are also blackish or dark gray.
* ''M. bororo'' is found in Atlantic forest in southeastern Brazil. In appearance, it is intermediate in appearance between ''M. americana'' (first group) and ''M. nana'' (third group).Vogliotti, A., and J. M. B. Duarte (2009). Discovery of the first wild population of the small red brocket deer Mazama bororo (Artiodactyla: Cervidae). ' Mastozool. Beotrop. 16(2).
Behavior
In addition to being small and
nocturnal
Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatur ...
, ''Mazama'' species are shy and are thus rarely observed. They are found living alone or in mated pairs within their own small
territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
, the boundaries usually marked with urine, feces, or secretions from the eye glands. When threatened by predators (primarily the
cougar
The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...
and the
jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
), they use their knowledge of their territory to finding hiding places in nearby vegetation. As
herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat ...
s, their diet consists of leaves, fruits, and shoots.
Reproduction
Mated pairs that live together remain
monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
. Single male deer usually mate with nearby females. When males compete for a mate, they fight by biting and stabbing with their short antlers. Brocket species that live in tropical areas have no fixed mating season, but those in temperate areas have a distinct rutting period in the autumn.
The
gestation
Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregn ...
period is roughly 200–220 days and females bear only one fawn at a time. The young stay with the mother, keeping concealed until large enough to accompany her. They are normally weaned around six months of age and reach sexual maturity after a year.