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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Marsh Deer

Blastocerus dichotomus (Illiger, 1815)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

This surprisingly shy and secretive deer is actually the largest native deer species in South America. Marsh deer have large, primarily ornamental antlers, which are usually impressively forked, growing to about 60 centimetres in length and weighing, on average, about two kilograms. They are shed irregularly and may be retained for up to two years. Marsh deer also have well-developed hindquarters, making them good at jumping, which is the fastest way to move in water.The marsh deer has a shaggy, reddish chestnut coloured coat, with paler undersides of the neck and belly. The muzzle and lips ar

This surprisingly shy and secretive deer is actually the largest native deer species in South America. Marsh deer have large, primarily ornamental antlers, which are usually impressively forked, growing to about 60 centimetres in length and weighing, on average, about two kilograms. They are shed irregularly and may be retained for up to two years. Marsh deer also have well-developed hindquarters, making them good at jumping, which is the fastest way to move in water.The marsh deer has a shaggy, reddish chestnut coloured coat, with paler undersides of the neck and belly. The muzzle and lips are black, as are the lower legs. The eye is surrounded by a faint white ring and the large ears are lined with white hair. Marsh deer have long, broad hooves that are particularly adapted to the marshy environment, as they are joined by a special membrane and can spread out, giving the hooves a greater surface area, to prevent the deer from sinking into swampy ground.

Jonathan Wilkins · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) is a species of deer native to South America. It is the largest living species of South American deer. It is the only species in the genus Blastocerus.

Wikipedia contributors, Marsh deer; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:52:06.614378+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Blastocerus dichotomus (Illiger, 1815)
Name authority
(Illiger, 1815)
Common name
Marsh Deer
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Artiodactyla
Family
Cervidae
Genus
Blastocerus
Extinction status
Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
  9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
  10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
  11. orderArtiodactyla Owen, 1848
  12. familyCervidae Goldfuss, 1820
  13. subfamilyCapreolinae Brookes, 1828
  14. tribeOdocoileini Pocock, 1923
  15. genusBlastocerus Wagner, 1844
  16. speciesBlastocerus dichotomus (Illiger, 1815)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 50 records assigned to Cervidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Cervus dichotomus Illiger, 1815 Illiger, 1815synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

South America

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=625062 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:M2J6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.