New Species of Dwarf Deer Discovered in Peru

Pudella carlae is the first living cervid species described in the 21st century and the first from the New World in over six decades.

The newly-described deer species, Pudella carlae, belongs to the Neotropical deer tribe Odocoileini.

“Several issues regarding the systematics and taxonomy of Odocoileini, an assemblage of 18 recognized living species currently allocated into 7 genera, remain unclear,” said Dr. Guillermo D’Elía from the Universidad Austral de Chile and his colleagues.

“The few available phylogenetic analyses indicate that some genera are not monophyletic and that species richness in the group is underestimated.”

“One genus that presents both problems is the stocky and short-legged dwarf deer, Pudu.”

“It includes two species: the northern pudu (Pudu mephistophiles) from Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia; and the southern pudu (Pudu puda) from southern Chile and nearby Argentina.”

In a new study, the authors found that Pudu mephistophiles is in fact two distinct species.

“The typical form, Pudu mephistophiles, distributes north of the Huancabamba Depression from northernmost Peru to the north (Ecuador and Colombia), while the other distributes south of the Huancabamba Depression and is a Peruvian endemic,” they said.

“As no name is available for the last one, we describe and name it here: Pudella carlae.”

“This is the first living cervid species described in the 21st century and the first from the New World in over 60 years.”

The researchers also found that Pudu puda, the type species of Pudu, is not sister to the two northern pudu species.

“We revalidate the genus Pudella to allocate the latter two species.”

The team’s paper was published this month in the Journal of Mammalogy.

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Javier Barrio et al. The first living cervid species described in the 21st century and revalidation of Pudella (Artiodactyla). Journal of Mammalogy, published online March 1, 2024; doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyae012