52.

Merida Brocket

Mazama bricenii

French: Mazame du Merida / German: Nordlicher Zwergmazama / Spanish: Corzuela de Mérida

Other common names: Meroia Brocket

Taxonomy. Mazama briceni Thomas, 1908,

Paramo de La Culata, Mérida (Venezuela). This species and M. chuny: have been considered subspecies of M. rufina. Collected for the first time by S. Briceno in 1907. Monotypic.

Distribution. NE Colombia and W Venezuela.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 80-95 cm, tail 8-9 cm, shoulder height 45-50 cm; weight 8-13 kg. Small-sized brocket with a long-haired coat. The coatis basically reddish, with dark head and legs, orange throat. Antler spikes are short, up to 6 cm in length. Deep cavity in the lacrimal bone.

Habitat. It occurs in tropical montane cloud forests and alpine grasslands from 800 m to 3500 m above sea level.

Food and Feeding. Nothing is known, but presumably this speciesis a browser on understory leaves, shoots, and fruits, like other brockets.

Breeding. Puberty is attained at twelve months of age. Births have mainly been observed in December. After a pregnancy of about 210 days, females give birth to a single fawn. Weaning occurs at six months of age.

Activity patterns. No studies to date, butlikely to be active both day and night, based on its closest relatives.

Movements. Home range and Social organization. Very shy and mostly solitary, but no data available.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Habitat loss and poaching continue to be the main threats.

Bibliography. Czernay (1987), Lizcano & Alvarez (2008a), Linares (1998), Lizcano et al. (2010).