Odocoileus peruvianus (Gray)

VOSS, ROBERT S., 2003, A New Species of Thomasomys (Rodentia: Muridae) from Eastern Ecuador, with Remarks on Mammalian Diversity and Biogeography in the Cordillera Oriental, American Museum Novitates 3421, pp. 1-48 : 20

Odocoileus peruvianus (Gray)

SPECIMENS COLLECTED: None.

OTHER MATERIAL: The holotype of Odocoileus peruvianus consul Lönnberg is an adult female specimen ( NHRS A63 /0094) , collected by L. Söderström in 1920 at ‘‘Guamani on the road to Papallacta, altitude 12,000 feet’’ ( Lönnberg, 1922: 13; O. Grönwall, personal commun.). Additional specimens of white­tailed deer (AMNH 66743, 66744) were collected by H.E. Anthony between 4100 and 4300 m on Cerro Antisana in 1923.

TAXONOMY: Cabrera (1961) and most subsequent authors (including Grubb, 1993) treated Odocoileus peruvianus as a synonym or subspecies of O. virginianus , but all South American white­tailed deer appear to be diagnostically distinct from the latter species ( Molina and Molinari, 1999). Pending a comprehensive revision of the Neotropical forms of Odocoileus , I recognize peruvianus (with type locality in the Peruvian highlands) as a distinct species following Molina and Molinari’s (1999) provisional taxonomy.

REMARKS: White­tailed deer are said to be common throughout the páramo landscapes surrounding Cerro Antisana ( Black, 1982), but I did not observe any in the course of my fieldwork.