The species studied in this research is known as gray brocketdeer. Two Mazama gouazoubira (Fischer, 1814) adult exemplars, donated to the Laboratory of Anatomy of Domestic and Wild Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, São Paulo University, were preserved in formaldehyde (10%). There are four ungulas or hulls on each member and they protect the distal end of the limb, covering the distal phalanx. The angle of the hoof was measured and samples of the digits were processed for light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. In macroscopy, the length of the dorsal wall of the hoof measured approximately 2.5 cm, the angle formed at the step was 35° for the forelimb and 33° for the hindlimb. In microscopy, we could visualize the outer stratum as a very thin layer (141.5 μm), the middle stratum, composed of keratin tubular pigment, which is the main support structure of the wall of the hull, and the inner layer containing parallel slides in a longitudinal distribution, which is important to connect the hoof wall to the dorsal and lateral surface of the distal phalanx. The data from the ungular apparatus of the deers studied may help to elucidate the growth and identification of the footprints of these animals.
deer; distal phalanx; hoof; tracks