Odocoileus

Deer
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Cervidae
Subfamily:	Capreolinae
Genus:	Odocoileus Rafinesque, 1832
Species
Odocoileus hemionus Odocoileus virginianus

Odocoileus is a genus of medium-sized deer (family Cervidae) containing two species native to the Americas. The name is sometimes spelt odocoeleus; it is from a contraction of the roots odonto- and coelus meaning "hollow-tooth".

Species

• Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is indigenous to the western half of North America.
• White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is found throughout most of the continental United States, southern Canada, Mexico, Central America and northern portions of South America as far south as Peru.

Hybridisation

On the event of hybridisation between the Mule deer and the Whitetail the offspring is subject to ecological post-zygotic reproductive isolation, in which its predator escape technique becomes confused: a mix of the Mule deer's stotting strategy and the Whitetail's sprint strategy cause the hybrid to perform a chaotic mixture of both, making it an easy prey-target for the Coyote.^{[citation needed]}