northern pudu
{{Expand German|date=August 2024|topic=scitech}}{{Short description|Species of small South American deer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range =
| image = Pudu mephistophiles.png
| image_caption = Northern pudu (P. mephistophiles)
| status = DD
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status2 = CITES_A2
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=14 January 2022|website=cites.org}}
| genus = Pudella
| species = mephistophiles
| authority = (de Winton, 1896)
| synonyms = Pudua mephistophiles de Winton, 1896{{cite journal|last1=de Winton|first1=W. E.|title=On some Mammals from Ecuador|journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London|date=1896|volume=64|issue=2|pages=507–513 [508] |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1896.tb03055.x|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31032112}}
| range_map = Pudu mephistophiles map.png
| range_map_caption = Geographic range of Pudu mephistophiles
}}
The northern pudu (Pudella mephistophiles, Mapudungun {{lang|arn|püdü}} or {{lang|arn|püdu}},{{Cite book|title=Diccionario Mapuche: Mapudungun/Español, Español/Mapudungun |language=es |edition=2nd |year=2006 |editor=Muñoz Urrutia, Rafael |publisher=Editorial Centro Gráfico Ltda. |location=Santiago, Chile |isbn=956-8287-99-X |pages=184 }} {{langx|es|pudú}}, {{IPA|es|puˈðu}}) is a species of South American deer native to the Andes of Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador. It is the world's smallest deer{{Cite web |year=2009 |title=Southern Pudu |url=http://animal.discovery.com/guides/mammals/habitat/tempforest/southpudu.html |url-status=dead |access-date=19 September 2009 |publisher=Animal Planet |archive-date=28 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121128162952/http://animal.discovery.com/guides/mammals/habitat/tempforest/southpudu.html }} and is classified as Data Deficient in the IUCN Red List. Originally classified under genus Pudu, some authorities consider it to belong to a separate genus (Pudella) from the southern pudu, along with Pudella carlae.{{Cite journal|author1=Javier Barrio|author2=Eliécer E Gutiérrez|author3=Guillermo D’Elía|year=2024|title=The First living cervid Species described in the 21st Century and Revalidation of Pudella (Artiodactyla)|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyae012}}
Description
The northern pudu is the smallest species of deer in the world, standing {{convert|32|to|35|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall at the shoulder and weighing {{convert|3.3|to|6|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}}.{{Cite book| last = Geist | first = Valerius | title = Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology | publisher = Stackpole Books |date = September 1998| pages = 119–121 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bcWZX-IMEVkC&q=pudu+deer+behavior&pg=PA119 | isbn = 978-0-8117-0496-0}} The antlers of the northern pudu grow to about {{convert|6|cm|in|1|abbr=on}} long and curve backward. Its coat tends to be lighter than that of the southern pudu, but the face is darker compared to the coat.
Range and habitat
The northern pudu is found at higher altitudes than its sister species, from {{convert|2000|to|4000|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. It has a discontinuous range across the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It inhabits montane forests, high-elevation elfin forests, and humid alpine páramo grasslands above the tree-line. The Marañón dry forests are a gap in the species' range, separating the Ecuadorian population from the Peruvian population in the Peruvian Yungas south of the Marañón River.
References
{{Reflist}}{{Artiodactyla}}{{Taxonbar|from=Q1076540}}
Category:Taxa named by William Edward de Winton
Category:Mammals described in 1896