414 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



than the guanaco and vicuna. In Bolivia, Neveu-Lemaire 

 and Grandidier (1907) have recorded it from the Yuru district, 

 at 5,000 meters. On account of the limited distribution and 

 the hunting to which this deer is subject, it is evidently becom- 

 ing uncommon and requires adequate protection. 



PAMPAS DEER; "VEADO BRANCO"; "GuAZim"; "VEADO 



CAMPEIRO" 

 BLASTOCERUS BEZOARTICUS (Linnaeus) 



Cervus bezoarticus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 175, 1758 (Brazil). 

 SYNONYMS: Cervus campestris F. Cuvier, Diet. Sci. Nat., vol. 7, p. 484, 1817; Cervus 



azarae Wiegmann, Isis, col. 954, 1833 (Paraguay). 

 FIGS.: Lydekker, 1898, pi. 22 (col); 1915, p. 190. 



The pampas deer is much smaller than its congener the 

 marsh deer, about the size of the European roebuck, but more 

 delicately built. The color is a light reddish brown, the face 

 darker, and occasionally a black patch on the crown; "tarsal 

 tuft, a patch at base of backs of ears, a ring round pedicles of 

 antlers, another round each eye, lips, throat, chest, under- 

 parts, fronts and inner sides of thighs, and inner sides of but- 

 tocks and upper part of fore-legs whitish; . . . tail dark 

 blackish brown above and white below." The antlers of the 

 male are small, with a large brow tine and a posterior beam 

 that forks usually once; length of beam up to 14.5 inches. 

 Males usually have the upper canine present. 



The general range of this small deer includes the open 

 campos of Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay to the pampas of 

 Argentina and northern Patagonia (Lydekker, 1898). Possi- 

 bly the animals of the more southern part of the range may be 

 separable as a distinct subspecies for which, as pointed out by 

 Lydekker, the name azarae is available. It is said to inhabit 

 dry open plains, avoiding forests and thickets. "Formerly, 

 when the tussocks of tall pampas-grass were dotted more or 

 less thickly over all the plains, it had plenty of covert; but in 

 the more settled districts it now has to live almost completely 

 in the open, and has consequently become wary in the extreme" 

 (Lydekker, 1898). It may be found in small groups or pairs, 

 but the adult males are often solitary for most of the year. 

 In the evening they are active but during the daytime lie up in 

 concealment. They are said to have a strong and characteristic 

 odor. When started, they bound off at a considerable speed, 



