what are the subspecies of whitetail?, is there one for for small southern coastal deer because I notice the deer here dont get that big
I don't think there are really subspecies, only differences in size based on where they live. Unsure though.
Uh-huh! A bunch of them.
This list was blatantly lifted from the Rush Creek Guide Service site:
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Family Cervidae
Subfamily Odocoileinae
Genus Odocoileus
Species O. virginianus (some nearctic and neotropic subspecies)
Odocoileus virginianus clavium (Key deer)
Odocoileus virginianus ochrourus (Northwest white-tailed deer)
Odocoileus virginianus couesi (Coues deer/Arizona white-tailed deer)
Odocoileus virginianus leucurus (Columbian white-tailed deer)
Odocoileus virginianus virginianus (Virginia white-tailed deer)
Odocoileus virginianus mcilhennyi (Avery Island white-tailed deer)
Odocoileus virginianus texanus (Texas white-tailed deer)
Odocoileus virginianus truei (Central American white-tailed deer found in Costa Rica's Guanacaste Province)
Odocoileus virginianus carminis (Carmen Mountains white-tailed deer)
Odocoileus virginianus apurensis (or gymnotis) (South American white-tailed deer found in Venezuela's Llanos Region)
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The trend today is to do DNA testing to determine whether these are truly subspecies, or just phenotypical variations influenced by location.I have some books listing 25-30 subspecies in the Americas.
Killdeer :campfire:
I own a book "Deer Hunting Coast to Coast" by Craig Boddington and Bob Robb, published by Safari Press. I believe it is out of print.
In Chapter One, they identify 17 different subspecies of Odocoileus virginianus (whitetail deer) between northern Mexico and Canada. Only Coues deer are normally separated for "recognition". There are also MANY tropical subspecies ranging all the way down to South America
I'm not certain, but in the book it looks as if Safari Club International may have different categories (seven) broken out by geography....
The sub species have been a bit mixed in the US due toover hunting followed by reintroduction programs.
Thanks, Killie....since you went to the trouble, I'll add what my book has in addition:
O. v. osceola (Florida)
O. v. seminolus (Florida coastal)
O. v. machrourus (Kansas)
O. v. dacotensis (Dakota)
O. v. borealis (Northern woodland)
It states that there are eight separate subspecies indentified below the Panama Canal Zone.