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Tropical ungulates of colombia

Abstract:

Twelve species of ungulates are present in Colombia, represented by three species of tapirs, two of peccaries and seven species of deer. A synthesis about the evolutionary and recent history for each of the group is presented, highlighting recent paleontological information for northern South America. Genetic and molecular studies indicate that deer present the greatest uncertainty regarding the number of species and their phylogenetic relationships. By species richness, the Caribbean region, with eight species, is the most diverse, followed by the Andean region with seven, the Orinoquia and Amazonia with six species and finally the Pacific region with four ungulate species. All the species present a greater proportion of their distribution outside protected areas, being two species of Andean ungulates, the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) and the rabbit deer (Pudu mephistophiles) the only ones reaching 20% of their distribution inside protected areas. Seven species are found in one of the threatened categories of IUCN, in which all species of tapirs are included. Finally, information about hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) and feral pig (Sus scrofa), alien species with wild populations in Colombia, is presented.