| Brocket deer | |
|---|---|
-right_01.JPG) | |
| Gray brocket (M. gouazoubira) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Tribe: | Odocoileini |
| Genus: | Mazama Rafinesque, 1817 |
| Type species | |
| Mazama pita Rafinesque, 1817 | |
| Species | |
M. americana | |
Brockets orbrocket deer are the species ofdeer in the genusMazama. They are medium to small in size, and are found in theYucatán Peninsula,Central andSouth America, and the island ofTrinidad. Most species are primarily found in forests. They are superficially similar to the Africanduikers and the Asianmuntjacs, but only distantly related. About 10 species of brocket deer are described.
Thegenus nameMazama is derived fromNahuatlmazame, the plural ofmazatl "deer".[1] The common English name "brocket" (from Frenchbrocart <broche, spindle) comes from the word for a stag in its second year, with unbranched antlers.[2]
Thetaxonomy amongMazama species has changed significantly in the last decades, and as recently as 1999, some authorities only recognized four species.[3] These four "species",M. americana,M. gouazoubira,M. rufina, andM. chunnyi, included several distinct populations that subsequently were elevated to species status, resulting in a total of nine different species being recognized inMammal Species of the World in 2005.[4] A tenth species,M. nemorivaga, has traditionally been included inM. gouazoubira, but this was shown to be mistaken in 2000.[5]M. nemorivaga was not recognized as a separate species inMammal Species of the World,[4] but this was apparently in error.[6] Yet another species, thefair brocket (M. tienhoveni), has recently been described from the lower Amazon basin.[7] What may be an undescribed small species of brocket with a reddish coat and blackish legs has been photographed in the lowlands ofManú National Park inPeru, and based on sight records may also occur in northwesternBolivia.[8]
Molecular dating suggests that the familyCervidae originated and radiated in central Asia during the LateMiocene, and that theOdocoileini dispersed to North America during the Miocene/Pliocene boundary and underwent an adaptive radiation in South America after their Pliocene dispersal across the Isthmus of Panama.[9] According to the systematic relationships and evolutionary history of neotropical deer, at least eight ancestral forms of deer invaded South America during the late Pliocene (2.5–3 Mya), and members of the red brockets had an independent early explosive diversification soon after their ancestor arrived there, giving rise to a number of morphologically cryptic species.
Deer endemic to the New World fall in two biogeographic lineages: the first, which includes genusOdocoileus andMazama americana, is distributed in North, Central, and South America, whereas the second is composed of South American species only and includesMazama gouazoubira. This implies that the genusMazama is not amonophyletic taxon.[10] Genetic analysis reveals high levels of molecular and cytogenetic divergence between groups of morphologically similar species of brockets (Mazama) and suggests apolyphyletic origin. In particular,M. americana showed a striking kinship withOdocoileus on the basis of several DNA sequences, in contrast to that expected, since thisM. americana (nowM. temama)haplotype, of Mexican origin, was not close to several BolivianMazama sequences analyzed. Thus,Mazama as traditionally circumscribed may not bemonophyletic. These BolivianMazama species were instead grouped withPudu puda andOzotoceros 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.[11]
TheYucatan brown brocket (O. pandora) has been previously treated as adisjunctsubspecies of thegray brocket or a subspecies of thered brocket (Mazama americana). In 2021, theAmerican Society of Mammalogists placed it in the genusOdocoileus.[12]
Depending on species, brocket deer are small to medium-sized with stout bodies and large ears. The head-and-body length is 60–144 cm (24–57 in), the shoulder height is 35–80 cm (14–31 in), and the typical weight 8–48 kg (18–106 lb), though exceptionally largeM. americana specimens have weighed as much as 65 kg (143 lb).[3][8] When present, theantlers are small, simple spikes.[3] Thepelage 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 theirphylogeny):
In addition to being small andnocturnal,Mazama species are shy and are thus rarely observed. They are found living alone or in mated pairs within their own smallterritory, the boundaries usuallymarked with urine, feces, or secretions from the eye glands. When threatened by predators (primarily thecougar and thejaguar), they use their knowledge of their territory to finding hiding places in nearby vegetation. Asherbivores, their diet consists of leaves, fruits, and shoots.
Mated pairs that live together remainmonogamous. 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 distinctrutting period in the autumn.
Thegestation 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.
