The genus
Bretzia was named in 1974 by paleontologist Eric Paul Gustafson and his colleague Willis Fry. It was named after geologist
J. Harlan Bretz.
Bretzia pseudalces is notable for being one of the first deer to live in North America, and one of the earliest ancestors to all
New World Deer. Fossils of sister species
Bretzia nebrascensis has been found in
Nebraska and
South Dakota. This species survived until the very end of the Pleistocene or Early
Holocene (around 10,000 BP). ==References==