Taxonomy of Venezuelan white-tailed deer (Odocoileus, Cervidae, Mammalia), based on cranial and mandibular traits
North and South American white-tailed deer are deemed to be a single species, Odocoileus virginianus. We used principal components and cluster analyses to compare crania and mandibles of Venezuelan and North American forms. We found that (1) Venezuelan and North American Odocoileus differ greatly from each other; (2) differentiation of groups within Venezuela exceeds that within North America; (3) the most divergent Venezuelan Odocoileus are those from Margarita Island and the Mérida Andean highlands; (4) the Margaritan Odocoileus does not differ in mandibular shape from its lowland congeners, but differs appreciably from other Venezuelan Odocoileus in having smaller mandibles and in cranial-mandibular characters; (5) the Mérida Andean Odocoileus contrasts markedly with other Venezuelan congeners in mandibular shape and cranial characters; (6) the remaining Venezuelan Odocoileus constitute a single group; (7) within this group, individuals from the Caribbean coast have larger mandibles and differ in some cranial characters. Thus, we propose that (a) Venezuelan and other Neotropical Odocoileus are not conspecific with O. virginianus; (b) Margaritan and Andean forms are distinct species: Odocoileus margaritae and Odocoileus lasiotis, respectively; (c) the remaining Venezuelan forms must be included within one species, Odocoileus cariacou; (d) Caribbean coast Odocoileus may represent an undescribed subspecies of O. cariacou.