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 forests. They are superficially similar to the African duikers and the Asian muntjacs, but only distantly related. About 10 species of brocket deer are described.

The genus name ''Mazama'' is derived from Nahuatl ''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 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'' 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, and based on sight records may also occur in northwestern Bolivia.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

Molecular dating suggests that the family Cervidae originated and radiated in central Asia during the Late Miocene, and that the Odocoileini dispersed to North America during the Miocene/Pliocene'' 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 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, of Mexican origin, was not close to several Bolivian ''Mazama'' sequences analyzed. Thus, ''Mazama'' as traditionally circumscribed may not be monophyletic. These Bolivian ''Mazama'' species were instead grouped with ''Pudu puda'' and '' Ozotoceros bezoarticus''. This could be explained by various possibilities, among them the existence of common ancestral haplotypes among the species or the need for a revised phylogenetic tree, with revised placement into true monophyletic genera that better reflect the true ancestry.

* Red brocket (''M. americana'')
* Small red brocket or bororo (''M. bororo'')
* Merida brocket (''M. bricenii'')
* Dwarf brocket (''M. chunyi'').
* Gray brocket (''M. gouazoubira'')
* Pygmy brocket (''M. nana'')
* Amazonian brown brocket (''M. nemorivaga'')
* Little red brocket (''M. rufina'')
* Central American red brocket (''M. temama'')
* Fair brocket (''M. tienhoveni'')

The Yucatan brown brocket (''O. pandora'') has been previously treated as a disjunct subspecies of the gray brocket or a subspecies of the red brocket (''Mazama americana''). In 2021, the American Society of Mammalogists placed it in the genus ''Odocoileus''.

Physical description and habitat

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 antlers are small, simple spikes. The pelage 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):

* ''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. 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 cloud forest, elfin forest and páramo). 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, ''Mazama'' species are shy and are thus rarely observed. They are found living alone or in mated pairs within their own small territory, the boundaries usually marked with urine, feces, or secretions from the eye glands. When threatened by predators (primarily the cougar and the jaguar), they use their knowledge of their territory to finding hiding places in nearby vegetation. As herbivores, their diet consists of leaves, fruits, and shoots.

Reproduction

Mated pairs that live together remain monogamous. 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 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.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q911770

Mazama (genus)
Páramo fauna
Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque
Capreolinae