It is noteworthy, however, that certain Pliocene European deer (Anoglochis) appear to be closely allied to the modern American deer (Mazama).
One of the best known of these is the white-tailed deer Mazama (Dorcelaphus) americana, often known as the Virginian deer.
This lake lies in a great pit or caldera created by the wrecking in prehistoric times of the volcano Mount Mazama, which according to geologists once had an altitude of about 14,000 ft.
Some of the more northern American deer, such as the wapiti, reindeer and elk (moose), are closely allied to Old World species; but there is also a group of exclusively American deer (Mazama) - the only one found in Central and South America - the members of which are unlike any living Old World deer; and these must be regarded as having reached the western hemisphere at an earlier date than the wapiti, reindeer and elk (see Deer, Elk, Fallow-Deer, Muntjac, Musk-Deer, Pre David'S Deer, Reindeer, Roebuck, Water-Deer, &c.).
Including all these deer except one in the genus Mazama (of which the typical representatives are the South American brockets), the North American species constitute the subgenus Dorcelaphus (also known as Cariacus and Odocoileus).