I have read that there are about 19 subspecies of whitetail in the continental U.S. but I was pretty amazed when I compared these two skulls. The top buck is from Maine, the bottom from Wisconsin. This could possibly simply be age as the Maine buck, I believe, was quite old, but that aside they still look different to me. The Maine buck is a full 1" wider between the bases. I'm interested to hear what you guys think.
I see what you're saying, but does that mean all bucks from Maine are going to be that wide at the base, or all WI bucks that narrow?
Think about humans skull size varies there too. I realize there are sub species but that's not a good method to go by. Sent from iPhone
Well what I am thinking is that if there are 19 subspecies then the Maine and Wisconsin whitetail are likely two varieties. I know the picture is small but its more than just the skull size that look different between the two. I'm just curious about just what the differences are between the subspecies.
It is so weird that you posted this...i was thinking about making a Whitetail subspecies thread too. You are right, there are a number of Whitetail subspecies. Minnesota deer are different then Florida deer, and Ohio deer are different then Texas deer. Usually, subspecies are created by isolated breeding groups of a species (ie Elk, Tigers, Elephants) that "evovle" to the habitat they are in. The weird part about whitetails is that the subspecies overlap a little. Did you know Whitetail deer live in the amazon rainforest?
