The Central American red brocket, Mazama temama, is a species of brocket deer

Brocket Deer

Brocket deer are the species of deer in the genus Mazama. They are medium to small in size, and are found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Central and South America, and the island of Trinidad. Most species are primarily found in forests. They are superficially similar to the African duikers and the Asian...

 ranging from southern Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, through Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

, to northwestern Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

. It was formerly treated as a subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of the red brocket

Red Brocket

The Red Brocket , is a species of brocket deer from forests in South America, ranging from northern Argentina to Colombia and the Guianas...

 from South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, but its karyotype

Karyotype

A karyotype is the number and appearance of chromosomes in the nucleus of an eukaryotic cell. The term is also used for the complete set of chromosomes in a species, or an individual organism.p28...

 has 2n = 50, while the latter's was initially described as having 2n = 68-70. However, a more recent description gives the red brocket a variable karyotype with 2n varying from 48 to 54. It is sympatric with the Yucatan brown brocket

Yucatan Brown Brocket

The Yucatan Brown Brocket is a small species of deer native to the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. While it is found in humid tropical forest like most other brocket deer, the Yucatan Brown Brocket also ranges across arid, relatively open habitats...

over part of its range. The species is found in primary and secondary tropical forest, and is probably threatened by hunting and deforestation.