Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
CERVIDAE - DEER
Five species of graceful, small to large herbivores with long necks, long, slender legs and short tails. They are ruminants with a four-chambered stomach adapted to browsing foliage. After eating they rest and regurgitate food from the rumen which is then remasticated and digested. There are four digits on each foot (digit 1 is absent), digits 3 and 4 located anteriorally are large and pointed, digits 2 and 5 are much reduced and located posteriorally. Only digits 3 and 4 leave an impression in a normal print. Deer lack canines and upper incisors, the incisors being separated from the premolars by a broad gap (diastema). A preorbital gland located in front of the eye is used for marking territorial boundaries. Males of all species grow antlers which are shed annually, females lack antlers. Females give birth to a single young with spotted pelage. Faeces are small ovaloid packages deposited in clumps.
Skull: Cranium long lacking sagittal crest. Preorbital foramen.
Blastocerus: Marsh Deer
A single species of large, strongly-patterned deer with long ears and legs and thick, heavy, multi-branched antlers.
Ozotoceros: Pampas Deer
A single species of medium-sized, slender, long-legged deer. The pelage is smooth and short. Antlers multi-branched of moderate length.
Mazama: Brocket Deer
Three species of small deer with simple antlers lacking bifurcation. Despite their small size they have robust bodies with an arched back and large eyes. The three species are best distinguished by size and pelage colour. Though M.gouazoupira is often found in semi-open habitats and is hence the most commonly encountered, deer of this genus are predominately unobtrusive forest dwellers, avoiding paths and using their laterally-compressed form to push through dense vegetation.
Skull: Preorbital foramen reduced.
REFERENCES
Diaz MM & Barquez RM 2002 - Los Mamíferos de Jujuy, Argentina - LOLA
Emmons LH & Feer F 1999 - Mamíferos de los Bosques Húmedos de América Tropical - FAN Bolivia
Redford K 1992 - Mammals of the Neotropics Vol 2: The Southern Cone Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay - University of Chicago Press.
