Maybe I should have called this show, Infundibula, blah, blah, blah, instead of Desert Mule Deer. I love to poke fun at scientific terms, but the truth is that I love the language of biology or in this case zoology. By the way, the word infundibula means funnel shaped, so the hollow pits as seen on the premolars and molars of our deer and gives them their generic name, are funnel shaped. Maybe if you use your imagination. Anyway, we are so lucky to have these large artiodactyl ungulates in the Cervidae – that was fun – out in the wild borderlands of southeastern Arizona.
A couple notes: the book I mentioned is Deer of the Southwest by Jim Heffelfinger. And the photos are mine. Two photos are of a large group out in the grassland. If you look closely you can spot some antlers. And I love the one of the two mulies in the orchard. I took that photo early in the morning with my cell phone.
The botanical name of our 3 needle per fascicle (bundle) Chihuahuan pine is Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana. Further south into Mexico where the 5...
The photo is mine and taken from our place looking west toward the Dragoons. I call the photo, “Come to Poppa.”
I think it’s fascinating that there are several species of winter fat found in Eurasia and Europe. That’s where the genus was first described...
