A comprehensive cytogenetic characterization of the unusally large reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) sex chromosomes is presented for the purpose of studying the evolution of these atypical gonosomes. Sex chromosome idiograms were constructed from G-banded and C-banded chromosomes to illustrate the relative amounts and locations of euchromatin and heterochromatin. Hybridization with a Mazama gouazoubira X whole-chromosome paint revealed that essentially all reindeer X-linked euchromatin and most reindeer Y-linked euchromatin is conserved interspecifically. Subsequently, painting probes were generated from flow-sorted reindeer X chromosomes, flow-sorted reindeer Y chromosomes, and from microdissections of specific gonosomal regions to establish specific segment-to-segment homologies between these gonosomes. In particular, one microdissection-generated paint demonstrated that certain constituent repetitive DNAs, found in C-band region Xq31, were also present in essentially all heterochromatin blocks of the Y chromosome. Microdissection-generated paints from other X-linked heterochromatin blocks revealed the presence of DNA sequences that lacked homologous sequences on the Y chromosomes and were more specific for their region of origin. These characteristics of the reindeer sex chromosomes are consistent with the notion that mammalian sex chromosomes were derived from homologous progenitor chromosome pairs and provide insights into the evolution of these atypical mammalian gonosomes.