A comparison of facial and auricular colouration in mule deer and greater kudu

(writing in progress)

The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus hemionus/eremicus, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42220-Odocoileus-hemionus) and the greater kudu (Strepsiceros strepsiceros, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/42339-Tragelaphus-strepsiceros) are approximate ecological and morphological equivalents in North America and southern Africa.

In this Post, I make a comparison of the appearances of the heads of these species, focussing on adult females.

The aim is to compare the patterns of colouration on the mouth, cheeks, and the front-of-ear (anterior surface of the ear pinna).

The following is a near-profile illustration for the mule deer: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2479/3942640659_be0175edc5.jpg.

Note that the front-of-ear (not particularly large in this individual) is oblong and has extensive fur in a dark/pale pattern. On the mouth, there is a dark ‘fang mark’, while the upper lip has a dark patch (the pale parts of the upper lip being relatively inconspicuous). There are no cheek spots. The location is ostensibly near Calgary in Alberta, Canada.

The following of the greater kudu show a consistent pattern. This species has cheek spots, present in all individuals although there is individual variation in number, size, and shape of the spots. There is always one spot on the mandible, which means that this ventral-most spot would potentially move relative to the other spot/spots during chewing. In addition, the cheek spots would shift owing to cheek-bulge when the cudball appears in the mouth, and thus possibly function to accentuate the bulge of the cudball.

Greater kudus also differ categorically from mule deer in lacking a ‘fang mark’. The closest thing to this ‘fang mark’ in greater kudus is the small dark area at the gape itself. While both mule deer and greater kudus have white chins and white upper lips at the anterior-most position of the upper lips, the pattern of dark vs pale on the upper lip differs. Whereas the upper lip of mule deer is basically dark with a spot of white at the anterior-most position, the upper lip of greater kudus is basically white, accentuated to various degrees by a dark area posterior to this white. The border between this white and this dark is consistently crisp, whereas the cheek spots are relatively blurred. Female greater kudus also differ from female mule deer in possessing a slight mandibular dewlap, the anterior part of which is white.

http://m.rgbimg.com/cache1sXuPQ/users/s/so/somadjinn/600/nF5Dlxo.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8201/8252166045_7100e43e07_z.jpg

https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1280&bih=717&q=kudu+doe+close-up&oq=kudu+doe+close-up&gs_l=img.3...38805.45175.0.45873.25.15.3.7.0.3.660.3030.4j4j5j1j0j1.15.0....0...1ac.1.29.img..16.9.1070.FPR_pyLB4iY#q=greater+kudu+close-up+&tbm=isch&facrc=&imgdii=&imgrc=3wEcu8od-4jzLM%3A%3BaTYSsKs01pAHIM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcdn1.arkive.org%252Fmedia%252F6D%252F6D9EBC4C-E18B-417A-B171-B6E46319AE48%252FPresentation.Large%252FFemale-greater-kudu-close-up-of-head.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.arkive.org%252Fgreater-kudu%252Ftragelaphus-strepsiceros%252Fphotos.html%3B650%3B417

http://photos.safaribookings.com/library/tanzania/xxl/Ruaha_National_Park_015.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Greater_kudu_face.jpg

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/stevemeese/stevemeese0805/stevemeese080500001/2972599-close-up-of-greater-kudu-tragelaphus-strepsiceros.jpg

This is a typical full-frontal portrait for mule deer. Once again, this is in Alberta, Canada, where I find the mule deer to have relatively small ears.

What follows is nine comparative photos for greater kudu.

This species has been photographed in full-frontal portrait more than perhaps any other antelope, so we have excellent material to study here. Please note that, while both mule deer and greater kudus have white on upper lip, lower lip, and chin, the area of white on the front of the mouth is greater in greater kudu than in mule deer.

This is because in greater kudus the upper lip is more prominent and also more broadly white, the chin is proportionately larger than in mule deer, and the white dewlap can also be seen in full-frontal view. In the case of the front-of-ear pattern, an obvious difference is that much of the front-of-ear of greater kudus is bare, and the white ear-curtain is so much more prominent in greater kudus than in mule deer that it one of the most conspicuous parts of the whole body in female greater kudus.

Mule deer do have large ears but the markings on the front-of-ear are ambivalent, possibly functioning as disruptive colouration and not as a display. In both mule deer and greater kudus, the white of the ear curtain wraps on to the ear stalk.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b363/gcromwell/kudunoseresize.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8358/8352138095_862d7d11b6_z.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8109/8544609347_0df0759c75_b.jpg

http://static.photo.net/attachments/bboard/00b/00bx5G-542190984.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/70077395@N00/4946270512

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94137765@N00/5693002093

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7388060@N08/3859037068

http://www.flickr.com/photos/19365058@N06/4047143311

http://lh3.ggpht.com/-zUIg3InIyuk/SWZkhCVIrTI/AAAAAAAAC74/qGK8sHGuViY/s800/Kudu-Female-2007.jpg

(writing in progress)

Publicado el 28 de junio de 2022 por