Pudella mephistophiles (Artiodactyla: Cervidae)

Pudella mephistophiles (de Winton, 1896), Ecuadorian Páramo Pudu, is 1 of 2 species in the genus Pudella. It is a very small, sexually dimorphic deer with a characteristic dark brown face. It is solitary, largely living at high altitudes in the Páramo, near humid montane forests of the northern Andes, in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Until recently, P. mephistophiles was affected by hunting, and currently by habitat loss mainly because of agriculture. It is infrequently observed or captured and considered “Data Deficient” (DD) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.