Abstract
Two species of deer, mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, and white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, occur in Arizona. Another deer, Dorcelaphus (Odocoileus) crooki, thought by some to be a hybrid between these two species or possibly a distinct species, has been described as occurring, in Arizona. A study of Arizonan deer shows that 0. hemionus and 0. virginianus can be distinguished, one from the other, on 17 characters for males, 16 characters for females. On the basis of these characters, Dorcelaphus (= Odocoileus) crooki is not a hybrid nor a distinct species, but a subspecies of 0. hemionus. Mule deer in Arizona are of two subspecies: (1) Odocoileus hemionus crooki, found throughout southern Arizona and regarded as includ-ing the race 0. hemionus eremicus from along the Colorado River and parts of Sonora, and (2) Odocoileus hemionus hemionus in northern Arizona. White-tailed deer are of one subspecies, Odocoileus virginianus couesi, but some specimens from east-central Arizona are of large size showing approach to 0. v. texanus.
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