416 EXTINCT AND VANISHING MAMMALS 



and hocks downwards, and tarsal tuft also black; abdomen, 

 inside of thighs, chin, and insides and bases of backs of ears 

 white ... a whitish line above, or a ring round eyes, 

 most marked in females . . . tail yellowish rusty red 

 above and black beneath . . . Fine antlers attain a length 

 of from 21 to 24^ inches" (Lydekker, 1915); they are doubly 

 forked, each of the two branches having a simple fork. 



The range is extensive in the tropics and subtropics of South 

 America, from probably Guiana southward through Brazil to 

 Paraguay and Uruguay and the Chaco or wooded districts of 

 northern Argentina. Unlike its smaller relative, the pampas 

 deer, it inhabits dense jungle on the borders of streams or 

 swamps and it is said to go in small parties of three to five 

 individuals. The skin is much used for leather by the natives, 

 but the meat is apparently not held in high esteem. Lydekker 

 remarks on the similarity in color between this deer and the 

 maned wolf, which is found in the same areas in parts of the 

 range. 



Although little information is at hand as to the details of 

 distribution and relative abundance of this large deer, it is 

 evident that in certain of the more settled regions in the south- 

 ern part of the range it is becoming much reduced in numbers. 

 Devincenzi (1935) writes that in Uruguay the Departments of 

 Rocha and Treinta y Tres have been "considered the last 

 refuge of the species/' while Sanborn comments that it is now 

 very rare in Uruguay but was reported to be found in small 

 numbers in Rocha. No effort has been made to preserve them. 

 Dr. Roberto Dabbene writes, in response to inquiry by Dr. 

 Harper, that in Argentina it was formerly common and oc- 

 curred as far as the islands of the Delta of La Plata but is now 

 (1937) confined to the Territory of Formosa, where it is not 

 common. By presidential decree the hunting of this deer is 

 prohibited in Argentina. 



Though no data of importance are available for Brazil, it is 

 apparently to be found in fair numbers. 



