A Roe Deer from the Pliocene of Hidalgo, Central Mexico

Abstract

Mexican Pliocene cervids are very poorly known. We report on new fossil material of the roe deer Capreolus constantini recovered from the Pliocene Atotonilco El Grande Formation of Santa Mariá Amajac, Hidalgo (central Mexico). The specimens were collected from a series of layers of friable to moderately indurated polymictic conglomerate supported by a sandstone-tuffaceous-calcareous matrix. This species was formerly known only from the late Pliocene of Udunga, Russia, thus implying a dispersal event to North America around 4.0 Ma. This cervid is one of the very small number of mammals recorded from the poorly sampled Pliocene temperate deposits of Mexico.