American Mountain Deer
Encyclopedia
The American Mountain Deer or Mountain Deer (Navahoceros fricki) has been declared a 'nomen nudum', or an invalid construct (Morejohn and Dailey 2004).
It has been show to correspond to Odocoileus lucasi.
See Odocoileus lucasi.
Navahoceros fricki was described an extinct member of the family Cervidae and was most common in the North America
n Rocky Mountains
during the Pleistocene
. It survived to about 11,500 Bp
from evidence found in Burnet Cave
in the Guadalupe Mountains
of southern New Mexico
.
However, Kurten’s (1975) analysis has been questioned based on technical grounds and new paleontological data. Kurten’s analysis presented in 1,5 pages was based on averages of length of dissociated bones (samples sizes 9-52), without specifying the sex nor age of the source animals, nor providing standard deviations to let the reader know about variability due to sex and age. As neither the museum catalog numbers were listed, it is impossible to duplicate his analysis.
One comparative element he used were the skeletal measurements of a single (1) mule deer, but he did not provide the data on sex, age or locality. However, from data provided by Klein (1964) and McMahon (1975), the relative lower leg length of mule deer can vary at least by 22%.
Kurten also stated that Navahoceros resembled ibex (Capra ibex) based on short metapodials which made him label the Navahoceros as a mountain deer with an Alpine climbing mode of locomotion (like ibex), but without providing data on ibex. However, data from Fernandez and Monchot (2007) on ibex show that their bone measurements are far from the averages of Navahoceros presented by Kurten.
More recently, Morejohn and Dailey (2004) published the analysis of the osteological anatomy and morphology of a practically complete skeleton of a pleistocene adult male, Odocoileus lucasi (Hay 1927) along with other collections labeled as O. lucasi. Moreover, for their 54- page analysis they visited most collections of samples identified as Navahoceros as well as other species for a comparative analysis (Cervalces scotti, Alces alces, Rangifer tarandus, Odocoileus hemionus, O. virginianus, Hippocamelus antisensis, H. bisulcus, Mazama americana, Pudu mephistophiles, P. puda, Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Blastocerus dichotomus), located in 27 different institutions worldwide.
They also dissected and analyzed fresh materials of Alces, Cervus, Mazama, Odocoileus hemionus and O. virginianus, Ozotoceros, Pudu , and Rangifer.
The main conclusions from the analysis by Morejohn and Dailey (2004) are:
- they consider Navahoceros to be a "nomen nudum"
- all revised bones which were labeled as Navahoceros were shown to belong to Odocoileus lucasi. This includes exhibition-mounts which were assembled from dissociated bones
Although Navahoceros entered the scene based on a very weak analysis which is impossible to verify (Kurten 1975), the best current evidence based on an extensive comparative study shows that Navahoceros was an invalid construct and pertains to Odocoileus lucasi Hay 1927 (Morejohn and Dailey 2004). Subsequent publications referring to Kurten’s Navahoceros simply cited his interpretations without questioning its validity. It is recommended that any future discussion, or reference to Navahoceros, be done explicitly in relation to the known information on Odocoileus lucasi.
It has been show to correspond to Odocoileus lucasi.
See Odocoileus lucasi.
Navahoceros fricki was described an extinct member of the family Cervidae and was most common in the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
during the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
. It survived to about 11,500 Bp
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
from evidence found in Burnet Cave
Burnet Cave
Burnet Cave is an important archaeological and paleontological site located in Eddy County, New Mexico, United States within the Guadalupe Mountains.-Physical details:...
in the Guadalupe Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
The Guadalupe Mountains are a mountain range located in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The range includes the highest summit in Texas, Guadalupe Peak, , and the "signature peak" of West Texas, El Capitan, both located within Guadalupe Mountains National Park, as well as Carlsbad Caverns...
of southern New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
However, Kurten’s (1975) analysis has been questioned based on technical grounds and new paleontological data. Kurten’s analysis presented in 1,5 pages was based on averages of length of dissociated bones (samples sizes 9-52), without specifying the sex nor age of the source animals, nor providing standard deviations to let the reader know about variability due to sex and age. As neither the museum catalog numbers were listed, it is impossible to duplicate his analysis.
One comparative element he used were the skeletal measurements of a single (1) mule deer, but he did not provide the data on sex, age or locality. However, from data provided by Klein (1964) and McMahon (1975), the relative lower leg length of mule deer can vary at least by 22%.
Kurten also stated that Navahoceros resembled ibex (Capra ibex) based on short metapodials which made him label the Navahoceros as a mountain deer with an Alpine climbing mode of locomotion (like ibex), but without providing data on ibex. However, data from Fernandez and Monchot (2007) on ibex show that their bone measurements are far from the averages of Navahoceros presented by Kurten.
More recently, Morejohn and Dailey (2004) published the analysis of the osteological anatomy and morphology of a practically complete skeleton of a pleistocene adult male, Odocoileus lucasi (Hay 1927) along with other collections labeled as O. lucasi. Moreover, for their 54- page analysis they visited most collections of samples identified as Navahoceros as well as other species for a comparative analysis (Cervalces scotti, Alces alces, Rangifer tarandus, Odocoileus hemionus, O. virginianus, Hippocamelus antisensis, H. bisulcus, Mazama americana, Pudu mephistophiles, P. puda, Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Blastocerus dichotomus), located in 27 different institutions worldwide.
They also dissected and analyzed fresh materials of Alces, Cervus, Mazama, Odocoileus hemionus and O. virginianus, Ozotoceros, Pudu , and Rangifer.
The main conclusions from the analysis by Morejohn and Dailey (2004) are:
- they consider Navahoceros to be a "nomen nudum"
- all revised bones which were labeled as Navahoceros were shown to belong to Odocoileus lucasi. This includes exhibition-mounts which were assembled from dissociated bones
Although Navahoceros entered the scene based on a very weak analysis which is impossible to verify (Kurten 1975), the best current evidence based on an extensive comparative study shows that Navahoceros was an invalid construct and pertains to Odocoileus lucasi Hay 1927 (Morejohn and Dailey 2004). Subsequent publications referring to Kurten’s Navahoceros simply cited his interpretations without questioning its validity. It is recommended that any future discussion, or reference to Navahoceros, be done explicitly in relation to the known information on Odocoileus lucasi.