Deer (Family Cervidae)

Kingdom animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Cetarthiodactyla
Family cervidae

Deer are herbivorous mammals, belonging to the Family Cervidae, but distributed in several genera. Found all over the world, these animals have as one of their main characteristics the presence of horns, in males.

Predated by most large mammals, many deer species are threatened with extinction due to hunting and habitat loss.

In Brazil, we find eight species that, at first glance, look similar. This is justified by the fact that the differences between them are usually subtle, related to body size and body structures and because some of these species live in similar environments. The characteristic that distinguishes individuals of the Mazama genus from others is the absence of branches on the horns.

Below, the Brazilian representatives of the Cervidae Family:



Wetland deer (Blastocerus dichotomus).
Conservation status, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): vulnerable.


pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus).
Conservation status, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): Nearly threatened.

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White deer (odocoileus virginianus).
Conservation status according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): minimal risk.


Brown deer (Mazama Gouazoubira).
Conservation status according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): minimal risk.


wild deer (american maze).
Conservation status according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): insufficient information.


Southern Bororo deer (Mazama nana).
Conservation status according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): insufficient information.


São Paulo Bororó (Bororo Mazama).
Conservation status according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): vulnerable.


Red deer (Mazama nemorivaga).
Conservation status according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): minimal risk.

By Mariana Araguaia
Graduated in Biology
Brazil School Team

Vertebrates -Animals -Brazil School

Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:

ARAGUAIA, Mariana. "Deer (Family Cervidae)"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/animais/veado.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.

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