The
pudús (
Mapudungun püdü or
püdu, , ) are two subspecies of
South American deer from the genus
Pudu, and are the world's smallest
deer. The name is a loanword from
Mapudungun, the language of the indigenous
Mapuche people of
southern Chile. The two species of pudús are the
northern pudú (
Pudu mephistophiles) from
Colombia,
Ecuador, and
Peru, and the
southern pudú (
Pudu puda; sometimes incorrectly modified to
Pudu pudu) from southern
Chile and south-western
Argentina. Pudús range in size from tall, and up to long. As of 2009, both species are classified as endangered in the
IUCN Red List.