30 different sub-species of whitetail?
 

Was watching the outdoor channel when one of the shows asked the question of how many species of whitetail are in North America the answer was 30.

Are there any good reads on the different species on the Internet?
Would anybody know what species I shoot in west texas? It seems most harvested in the area I'm in have Points coming off the G2's like a Muley.

RE: 30 different species of whitetail?
 

bobo if I am not mistaken it is subspecies, not species. There are populations of whitetails that have actually interbred with mulies, I am not sure if west Texas is a part of the country where this has happened or not, I know Va. is not one of those areas, it would be kind of neat though.

RE: 30 different species of whitetail?
 

I suppose that if you included the other deer species like elk, caribou, and moose, etc., you could come up with 30 subspecies.

RE: 30 different species of whitetail?
 

I guess I was under the impression that it was sub species specific to whitetail. Not anything like Elk, Caribou, Moose etc..

I know of the 5 North American Deer being Elk, Moose, Caribou, Muley and Whitetail.

But for instance in the Mule family you have Blacktail which was supose to be a sub species (I Think)

RE: 30 different species of whitetail?
 

I always hear that the blacktail and sika bucks are their own species as well, kind of like a fallow. That's just my guess though. I would love to see the list of the different species of deer. If anyone sees it, please post.

RE: 30 different species of whitetail?
 

I thought Sika and Red Stag were sub species of Elk.

RE: 30 different species of whitetail?
 

Found this quote from afhfh.org

More to come 38 subspecies

Northern Woodland Whitetail - Pennsylvania the largest
Dakota Whitetail - Alberta and Northern Dakota
Northwest Whitetail - Northwestern United States and Canada
Columbian Whitetail - Oregon and Western Coastal
Coues or Arizona or Fantail Whitetail - Santa Cruz and Arizona
Texas Whitetail - Texas and adjacent states
Carmen Mountains Whitetail - Northern Mexico
Avery Island Whitetail - Louisiana
Kansas Whitetail - Kansas and neighboring states
Bull's Island Whitetail - Bull's Island
Hunting Island Whitetail - Hunting Island
Hilton Head Island Whitetail - Hilton Head Island
Blackbeard Island Whitetail - Blackbear Island
Florida Coastal Whitetail - Northwestern Florida
Florida Whitetail - Florida
Endangered Florida Key Deer the smallest
Acapulco Whitetail - Southern Mexico
Venado Whitetail - French Guiana and North Brazil
Chiriqui Whitetail - Panama
Venado (8) - Curacao Island
Venado (2) - Venzuela and Guianas
Venado (3) - Columbia (Andes) and West Venzuela
Venado (6) - Margarita Islands
Mexican White-tailed Deer
Miquihuan Whitetail - Central Mexico
Chiapas Whitetail - Southern Mexico
Sinaloa Whitetail - mid-western Mexico
Northwest Whitetail - Northwest United States and Canada
Mexican Lowland Whitetail - Southeastern Mexico
Rain Forrest Whitetail - Couthern Mexico
Venado (7) - western Columbia
Nicaragua Whitetail - Nicaragua and adjacent states
Venado (5) - Ecuator
Northern Veracruz Whitetail - Eastern Mexico
Virginia Whitetail - Virginia and adjacent states
Yacatan Whitetail - Yucatan and Honduras

RE: 30 different species of whitetail?
 

And how about the two main species of Odocoileus

Mule Deer or Black-tailed Deer
White-tailed or Cariacou

Of Mule Deer there are 11 Species

California Mule Deer, California
Cedros (Cerros) Island Mule Deer, Cerros Island, Baja, California
Columbian Black-tailed or Coast Deer, British Columbia and northern California
Desert Mule Deer, north Mexico
Burro Deer, northwest Mexico and Arizona
Southern Mule Deer, California
Mule Deer, western and central North America
Inyo Mule Deer, California
Peninsula Mule Deer, Baja, California
Tiburon Island Mule Deer, Tiburon Island
Sitka Deer, coastal area and islands off western British Columbia

RE: 30 different sub-species of whitetail?
 

I hunt odecoilus virginianus borealus here in western Illinois. That is the northern whitetail deer.

The Key Deer and the Coues Deer are sub species of whitetails.

Many of the subspecies are restricted to very small areas. The 30 subspecies are restricted to whitetail deer only. Muleys and blacktails have their own sub species as do elk and caribou.

Research whitetail deer on the 'net and you'll see the list and maybe a map of home ranges.

Good luck!

LLBUX

RE: 30 different sub-species of whitetail?
 

Interesting post. So I must be hunting the "Kansas Whitetail - Kansas and neighboring states" since I'm in Nebraska. What I'd love to know is what are the slight differences between subspecies.