Morphometric differentiation of endangered pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus), with description of new subspecies from Uruguay

Abstract

The pampas deer, Ozotoceros bezoarticus, was, until the recent past, widespread in South America from 5°S to 41°S; however, it is now considered to be one of the most endangered South American cervids because of habitat destruction and fragmentation. A comparative craniometrical study using univariate and multivariate analyses was performed to determine whether populations of pampas deer show patterns of sexual dimorphism and geographic variation. We found that pampas deer exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. Although the species showed high levels of intrapopulation morphological variability, most of it can be attributed to males, which are highly variable within populations. The 4 populations analyzed in this work, which correspond to 4 geographic regions in South America, are significantly differentiated, with females contributing most to differentiation among populations. Furthermore, results of our morphometric analysis were in concordance with genetic levels of differentiation previously found among populations. This study also supports the recognition of 2 separate subspecies in the Uruguayan northwestern grassland (Salto Department) and the Uruguayan east grassland (Rocha Department).