Mule deers' antlers tend to be larger than those of white-tails,mule deer are new to the genus Odocoileus, its closest relative, the white-tailed deer, only about 10,000 years ago, at about the end of the last Ice Age. Like its closest relative, the white-tailed deer--and the only other species in its genus, the mule deer--evolved only in North America. The eleven subspecies now classified by the "splitters" under Odocoileus hemionus (oh-doh-co-ill-ee-us; "hollow-toothed"; hem-ee-oh-nuss; "half-ass" or "mule") are distributed from north-central Mexico to the southern Northwest Territory in Canada, and from the eastern borders of the Dakotas to the Pacific Coast.
http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2480
*Blacktails (a type of mule deer) from northern California!
http://www.coueswhitetail.com/coues_biology/hybrids.htm
The White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to all but 3 of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, and northern portions of South America as far south as Peru. .
The species is common east of the American cordillera, and is absent from much of the western United States, including Nevada, Utah, and California (though its close relatives, the mule deer and black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus), can be found there).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitetail_d…
http://www.createstrat.com/muledeerinthewest/name.html
The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer whose habitat is in the western half of North America. It gets its name from its large mule-like ears. And The closest relative is the black-tailed deer (considered by some a subspecies of mule deer). Unlike its cousin, the white-tailed deer, mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the Missouri River. The differences between whitetails and muleys are the color of their tails and configuration of their antlers. The mule deer's tail is black tipped. Mule deer antlers "fork" as they grow rather than branching from a single main beam (as with white-tails). Each year a buck's antlers start to grow in spring and are shed after mating season from January to mid-April. Mule deer bucks have more prominent ears than females. Instead of running, mule deer move with a bounding leap with all four feet coming landing together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mule_Deer
Blacktail are the smallest. .Locations: Mule/blacktail-Western U.S. from the Missouri river in S. Dak. West to California and the Pacific northwest. Whitetail, most of the U.S. and the only deer in the eastern half of the U.S.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/answers/hunting/deer-hunting/finding-deer-hunt/what-black-tail-deer-and-what-are-its-differences-bet
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