Pudu mephistophiles
Taxonomy [top]
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | MAMMALIA | CETARTIODACTYLA | CERVIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Pudu mephistophiles | |||||||||
| Species Authority: | (de Winton, 1896) | |||||||||
Common Name/s:
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Assessment Information [top]
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Vulnerable C2a(i) ver 3.1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Year Published: | 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Assessor/s: | Barrio, J. & Tirira, D. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Reviewer/s: | Black, P. & Gonzalez, S. (Deer Red List Authority) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Justification: This species is considered to be Vulnerable in light of an ongoing decline, and because remaining small populations are fragmented into numerous subpopulations in the high Andes - where no subpopulation exceeds 1,000 mature individuals. This species occurs in very low densities throughout its range, is poorly known and more information is necessary in order to quantitatively measure threats and rates of decline due to hunting and habitat conversion – and thus if it might also qualify for population reduction threat criteria, however, insufficient information is currently available. Indirect estimates based on past distribution and habitat loss would consider the species is in a notable decline due to habitat reduction and expanding human settlements. Although humans rarely hunt the species today, it was intensively persecuted in the middle part of the century. |
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| History: |
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Geographic Range [top]
| Range Description: |
This species occupies a discontinuous and probably fragmented range through the montane forests and their limit with the humid grasslands of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Exact range is unknown and distributional gaps between records are unresolved. The only known natural gap is the Maranon dry forest lying in between the Ecuadorian population and the Peruvian population south of the Maranon. The current extent of occurrence (EOO) is estimated to be 90,000-130,000 km² and is split between two populations; the southern population 30,000-35,000 km² and the northern population 60,000-95,000 km². |
| Countries: |
Native:
Colombia; Ecuador; Peru
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| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
Population [top]
| Population: | Populations in central Peru clearly isolated from populations in Peruvian northern Andes, Ecuador and Colombia. There are new records in the former larger gap between populations; however, the gap still covers the breadth of the Maranon dry forest (Barrio, in prep.). Given the habitat type covering the gap, there is no expectation that an individual will ever appear there, besides accidentally. |
| Population Trend: |
Decreasing
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Habitat and Ecology [top]
| Habitat and Ecology: | This species inhabits elfin, cloud and montane forests throughout its distribution, and in humid grasslands above the tree-line mainly by the northern population, between 2,000 and 4,000 m. It moves in the undergrowth when it is inside forest. The small size makes the species difficult to detect. |
| Systems: | Terrestrial |
Threats [top]
| Major Threat(s): | Northern pudu was intensively exploited by local people from the 1950s to early 1980s (Hershkovitz 1982). However, nowadays habitat conversion and predation by domestic dogs are worse threats. |
Conservation Actions [top]
| Conservation Actions: |
This species is listed on CITES Appendix II. Recommended conservation actions include: undertake comprehensive status surveys and develop research program to determine ecology, habitat requirements, population biology, and extent of threats; strengthen existing protected areas management where necessary; in areas where subsistence hunting proves to be a serious threat, seek alternative subsistence schemes or more sustainable harvesting methods; develop conservation education programs and increase law enforcement if necessary. The species occurs in several protected areas across its range; some of these are without management plans and many receive insufficient resources to enable adequate protection. |
Bibliography [top]
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Barnett, A. A. 1999. Small Mammals of the Cajas Plateau, Southern Ecaudor: Ecology and Natural History. Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 42(4): 161-217. Eisenberg, J. F. 1989. Mammals of the Neotropics. The Northern Neotropics. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA and London, UK. Grimwood, I. R. 1969. Notes on the distribution and status of some Peruvian mammals, 1968. New York Zoological Society Special Publication 21: 83. Hershkovitz, P. 1982. Neotropical deer (Cervidae) part I, Pudus, Genus Pudu Gray. Fieldiana: Zoology 11: 1-86. IUCN. 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 5 October 2008). Pacheco, V. 2002. Protección de la biodiversidad en bosques montanos fragmentados y propuesta para conservar el bosque de Carpish, Huanuco. Informe final. CONCYTEC, proyecto 078, Lima, Perú. Tirira, D. 2007. Guía de Campo de los Mamíferos del Ecuador. Ediciones Murciélago Blanco. Publicación especial sobre los mamíferos del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. |
| Citation: | Barrio, J. & Tirira, D. 2008. Pudu mephistophiles. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012. |
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