The pudus (Mapudungun püdü or püdu,^[4]Spanish: pudú, Spanish pronunciation: [puˈðu]) are two species of South American deer from the genus Pudu, and are the world's smallest deer.^[5]The chevrotains (mouse-deer; Tragulidae) are smaller, but they are not true deer. The name is a loanword from Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous Mapuche people of central Chile and south-western Argentina.^[6] The two species of pudus are the northern pudu (Pudu mephistophiles) from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and the southern pudu^[7](Pudu puda; sometimes incorrectly modified to Pudu pudu^[8]) from southern Chile and south-western Argentina.^[9] Pudus range in size from 32 to 44 centimeters (13 to 17 in) tall, and up to 85 centimeters (33 in) long.^[10] The southern pudu is classified as near threatened,^[11] while the northern pudu is classified as Data Deficient in the IUCN Red List.^[12]

Pudu Temporal range: Pleistocene – recent
Southern pudu (P. puda)