Biogeographic distribution of New World (telemetacarpalian) deer (Odocoileinae).

Molecular data indicate that New World deer had a Palearctic origin, as seen in the present-day distribution of Eurasian roe deer (Capreolus) and Chinese water deer (Hydropotes). Holarctic moose (Alces) and caribou or reindeer (Rangifer) represent the original lineages that entered the New World. Cervids have entered the Neotropics at least twice: an older radiation including the larger, endemic species (Blastocerus and Ozotoceros) and the miniature Pudu, and a second more recent radiation including several lineages of brocket deer (Mazama spp.). Odocoileus, the typical deer of North America, has spread into Central and South America, and probably represent a third invasion.