The nine species of chevrotain, also known as mouse deer, make up the family What does and does not belong to each family is determined by a taxonomist. Similarly for the question if a particular family should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing a family Tragulidae. Chevrotains are small, secretive creatures, now found only in the tropical forests of Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people (as of 2009, see table) in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.72% of the world's human population, India India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known as Ceylon (/sɪˈlɒn/) before 1972, is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India, and South-east Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. They are the only living members of the infraorder Tragulina.

The word 'chevrotain' itself is French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in, and can be translated as 'little goat'. The Telugu Telugu is a Dravidian language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is the official language of Andhra Pradesh, one of the largest states of India. It is also one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India and was conferred the status of a Classical language by the Government of India. The mother tongue of the majority of name for the animal is "Jarini Pandi", which literally means "a deer and a pig".^{[citation needed]} The Konkani (Mangalore, India) name for it is "Barinka"

The Sinhala Sinhala and also known as Helabasa is the native language of the island Sri Lanka, and the language of the Sinhalese, who make up the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages name meeminna (Sri Lankan Sri Lanka , officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known as Ceylon (/sɪˈlɒn/) before 1972, is an island country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres (19.3 mi) off the southern coast of India sub species Moschiola memmina) roughly translates to 'mouse-like deer'.

Biology

The family was widespread and successful from the Oligocene The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene comes from the Greek ὀ (34 million years ago) through the Miocene The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words μείων (meiōn, “less”) and καινός (kainos, “new”) and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea (about 5 million years ago), but has remained almost unchanged over that time and remains as an example of primitive ruminant Physiologically, a ruminant is a mammal of the order Artiodactyla that digests plant-based food by initially softening it within the animal's first stomach, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called " form. Chevrotains have a four-chambered stomach to ferment tough plant foods, but the third chamber The omasum, also known as the bible, the fardel, the manyplies and the psalterium, is the third compartment of the stomach in ruminants. Though its functions have not been well-studied, it appears to primarily aid in the absorption of water, magnesium, and the volatile fatty acids produced by rumen fermentation, that have not been absorbed into is poorly developed. Like other ruminants, they lack upper incisors, and give birth to only a single young. In other respects, however, the chevrotains have primitive features, closer to non-ruminants such as pigs. They do not have horns or antlers, but both sexes possess enlarged upper canines In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, fangs, or eye teeth, are relatively long, pointed teeth. However, they can appear more flattened, causing them to resemble incisors and leading them to be called incisiform. They evolved and are used primarily for firmly holding food in order to tear it apart, and [1]. The male's are prominent and sharp, projecting either side of the lower jaw. Chevrotains have short, thin legs which leave them lacking in agility but also helps to maintain a smaller profile which aids in running through the dense foliage of their environment. Other pig-like features include the presence of four toes on each foot, the absence of facial scent glands, premolars The premolar teeth or bicuspids are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant, making eight premolars total in the mouth. They have at least two cusps. Premolars can be considered as a 'transitional tooth' during chewing, or mastication. It has properties of both the anterior with sharp crowns, and the form of their sexual behaviour and copulation.^[1]

The largest member of the family is the Water Chevrotain The water chevrotain , also known as the fanged deer, is a small ruminant found in tropical Africa. It is the largest of the ten species of chevrotains, evolutionarily primitive even-toed ungulates which are similar to deer but are barely larger than small dogs. The water chevrotain is found mostly in coastal West Africa and the rainforests of of Africa, at about 80 cm in length and roughly 10 kilograms. It is regarded as the most pig-like and primitive of the four. The remaining three all prefer rocky forest habitats. The Lesser Mouse Deer The Lesser Mouse-deer or Kanchil is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. It is found in Indochina, Burma (isthmus of Kra), Brunei, Cambodia, China (S Yunnan), Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, and many small islands), Laos, Malaysia (peninsular Malaya, Sarawak, and many small islands), Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is the of South-east Asia is the smallest of all ungulates Ungulates are several groups of mammals, most of which use the tips of their toes, usually hoofed, to sustain their whole body weight while moving. They make up several orders of mammals, of which six to eight survive. There is some dispute as to whether Ungulata are a cladistic (evolution-based) group, or merely a phenetic group or folk taxon (, at a mature size as little as around 45 cm (18 inches) and 2 kg (4.4 lb).

Chevrotains are solitary animals, and usually interact only to mate. The young are weaned Weaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk at three months of age, and reach sexual maturity at between five and ten months, depending on species. Parental care is relatively limited. Although they lack the types of scent glands found in most other ruminants, they do possess a chin gland for marking each other as mates or antagonists, and, in the case of the water chevrotain, anal and preputial glands for marking territory. Their territories are relatively small, on the order of 13-24 hectares, but neighbors generally ignore each other, rather than competing aggressively.^[1]

All four species depend for their survival on the retention of their fast-dwindling forest habitat and restriction of the bush meat trade. Some of the species (2 Asian and 1 African) show a remarkable affinity with water often remaining submerged for prolonged periods to evade predators or other unwelcome intrusion. This has also lent support to the idea that whales evolved from water-loving creatures that looked like small deer.^[2]

Classification

• SUBORDER RUMINANTIA Ruminantia includes many of the well-known large grazing or browsing mammals: among them cattle, goats, sheep, deer, and antelope. All members of the Ruminantia are ruminants: they digest food in two steps, chewing and swallowing in the normal way to begin with, and then regurgitating the semi-digested cud to re-chew it and thus extract the
  • Family Tragulidae
    • Genus Hyemoschus
      • Water Chevrotain The water chevrotain , also known as the fanged deer, is a small ruminant found in tropical Africa. It is the largest of the ten species of chevrotains, evolutionarily primitive even-toed ungulates which are similar to deer but are barely larger than small dogs. The water chevrotain is found mostly in coastal West Africa and the rainforests of, Hyemoschus aquaticus
    • Genus Moschiola Moschiola is a genus of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. It contains the following species:
      • Indian Spotted Chevrotain The Indian Spotted Chevrotain is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family found in India and possibly Nepal. It has a body length of 23 in (57.5 cm), with a tail length of 1 in (2.5 cm); it weighs around 7 lb (3 kg). It lives in rainforests and is nocturnal. This was earlier included under the name of Tragulus meminna but studies, Moschiola indica
      • Sri Lankan Spotted Chevrotain The Sri Lankan Spotted Chevrotain or White-spotted Chevrotain is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family endemic to Sri Lanka. The species name was earlier used to include the mainland Indian species which is now designated as a separate species Moschiola indica. This species is found in the dry zone of Sri Lanka and is replaced, Moschiola meminna
      • Yellow-striped Chevrotain, Moschiola kathygre
    • Genus Tragulus Tragulus is a genus of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. It contains the following species:
      • Java Mouse-deer The Java Mouse-deer is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. At full grown it is about the size of a rabbit. It is found in Java. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It is the smallest hooved animal in the world, Tragulus javanicus
      • Lesser Mouse-deer The Lesser Mouse-deer or Kanchil is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. It is found in Indochina, Burma (isthmus of Kra), Brunei, Cambodia, China (S Yunnan), Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, and many small islands), Laos, Malaysia (peninsular Malaya, Sarawak, and many small islands), Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is the or Kanchil, Tragulus kanchil
      • Greater Mouse-deer The Greater Mouse-deer or Napu is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. Its common name are Greater Mouse-deer or Greater Malay Chevrotain. It is found in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, Tragulus napu
      • Philippine Mouse-deer The Philippine Mouse-deer , also known as the Balabac Mouse Deer or Pilandok (in Filipino), is a small, nocturnal ruminant, which is endemic to Balabac and nearby smaller islands south-west of Palawan in the Philippines. It has often been considered a subspecies of the Greater Mouse Deer (T. napu). Contrary to its common name, the Philippine mouse, Tragulus nigricans
      • Vietnam Mouse-deer The Vietnam Mouse-deer , also known as the Silver-backed chevrotain, is a species of even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. As of 2004 it was unclear if any Vietnam Mouse-deer survived, Tragulus versicolor
      • Williamson's Mouse-deer Williamson's Mouse-deer is a species even-toed ungulate in the Tragulidae family. It is found in China and Thailand, Tragulus williamsoni
  • Family Moschidae Musk deer are artiodactyls of the genus Moschus, the only genus of family Moschidae. They are more primitive than the cervids, or true deer, in not having antlers or facial glands, in having only a single pair of teats, and in possessing a gall bladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth and—of particular economic importance to humans—a: musk deer
  • Family Cervidae Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer. Male deer of all species but the Chinese Water deer and female reindeer grow and: deer
  • Family Giraffidae The giraffids are ruminant artiodactyl mammals that share a common ancestor with deer and bovids. The biological family Giraffidae, once a diverse group spread throughout Eurasia and Africa, contains only two living members, the giraffe and the okapi. Both are confined to sub-saharan Africa: the giraffe to the open savannas, and the okapi to the: Giraffe and Okapi
  • Family Antilocapridae Antilocapridae is a family of artiodactyls endemic to North America. Their closest extant relatives are the giraffids. Only one species, the pronghorn , is living today; all other members of the family are extinct. The living pronghorn is a small ruminant mammal resembling an antelope. It bears small, forked horns: Pronghorn
  • Family Bovidae A bovid is any of almost 140 species of cloven-hoofed mammals belonging to the family Bovidae. The family is widespread, being native to all continents except South America, Australia and Antarctica, and diverse: members include bison, African buffalo, water buffalo, antelopes, gazelles, sheep, goats, muskoxen, and domestic cattle: cattle, goats, sheep, and antelope

Ancient Chevrotains

There are 6 extinct chevrotains genera^[3] including:

• Genus Dorcatherium
  • Dorcatherium minus from Pakistan Pakistan (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪsˈtaːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکِستان), is a country in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, and India in the
  • Dorcatherium majus from Pakistan Pakistan (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪsˈtaːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکِستان), is a country in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, and India in the
• Genus Dorcabune
  • Dorcabune anthracotherioides from Pakistan Pakistan (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪsˈtaːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکِستان), is a country in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, and India in the
  • Dorcabune nagrii from Pakistan Pakistan (Urdu pronunciation: [paːkɪsˈtaːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکِستان), is a country in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, and India in the
• Genus Afrotragulus Sánchez, Quiralte, Morales and Pickford, 2010 ^[4]
  • Afrotragulus moruorotensis (previously "Dorcatherium" moruorotensis Pickford, 2001) (early Miocene The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words μείων (meiōn, “less”) and καινός (kainos, “new”) and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea) from Moruorot, Kenya The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia (north), Somalia (northeast), Tanzania (south), Uganda plus Lake Victoria (west), and Sudan (northwest). Kenya has numerous wildlife reserves, containing thousands of animal species. The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya's
  • Afrotragulus parvus (previously "D." parvus Withworth 1958) (early Miocene The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words μείων (meiōn, “less”) and καινός (kainos, “new”) and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea) from Rusinga Island, Kenya The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia (north), Somalia (northeast), Tanzania (south), Uganda plus Lake Victoria (west), and Sudan (northwest). Kenya has numerous wildlife reserves, containing thousands of animal species. The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya's
• Genus Siamotragulus
  • Siamotragulus sanyathanai Thomas, Ginsburg, Hintong and Suteethorn, 1990 (middle Miocene The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words μείων (meiōn, “less”) and καινός (kainos, “new”) and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea) from Lampang, Thailand Thailand (pronounced /ˈtaɪlænd/ TYE-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/; Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha Anachak Thai, IPA: [râːtɕʰa ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k tʰɑj]) (formerly Siam Thai: สยาม) is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos
  • Siamotragulus haripounchai Mein and Ginsburg, 1997 (Miocene The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about 23.03 to 5.33 million years before the present . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words μείων (meiōn, “less”) and καινός (kainos, “new”) and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea) from Lamphun Lamphun is one of the northern provinces (changwat) of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are (from north clockwise) Chiang Mai, Lampang and Tak, Thailand Thailand (pronounced /ˈtaɪlænd/ TYE-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/; Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย Ratcha Anachak Thai, IPA: [râːtɕʰa ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k tʰɑj]) (formerly Siam Thai: สยาม) is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos
• Genus Yunnanotherium
• Genus Archaeotragulus^[5]
  • Archaeotragulus krabiensis Metais, Chaimanee, Jaeger and Ducrocq, 2001 (late Eocene The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by the emergence of the first) from Krabi, Thailand
• Genus Krabitherium
  • Krabitherium waileki Metais, Chaimanee, Jaeger and Ducrocq, 2007 (late Eocene) from Krabi, Thailand

The Hypertragulidae were closely related to the Tragulidae.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Dubost, G. (1984). Macdonald, D.. ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 516–517. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
2. ^ "Aquatic deer and ancient whales". BBC News. 2009-07-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8137000/8137922.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
3. ^ Farooq, U., Khan, M.A., Akhtar, M. and Khan, A.M. 2008. Lower dentition of Dorcatherium majus (Tragulidae, Mammalia) in the Lower and Middle Siwaliks (Miocene) of Pakistan. Tur. J. Zool., 32: 91-98. http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/issues/zoo-08-32-1/zoo-32-1-14-0612-5.pdf
4. ^ Israel M. Sánchez; Victoria Quiralte; Jorge Morales; Martin Pickford (2010). "A new genus of tragulid ruminant from the early Miocene of Kenya". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 55 (2): 177-187.
5. ^ Métais, G., Chaimanee, Y., Jaeger, J.-J. & Ducrocq S. 2001. New remains of primitive ruminants from Thailand: evidence of the early evolution of the Ruminantia in Asia. Zoologica Scripta. 30, 231-248. http://www.thaiscience.info/Article%20for%20ThaiScience/Article/5/Ts-5%20new%20remains%20of%20primitive%20ruminants%20from%20thailand%20evidence%20of%20the%20early%20evolution%20of%20the%20ruminantia%20in%20asia.pdf

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Categories: Tragulidae | Even-toed ungulates | Fauna of Southeast Asia | Mammals of Africa | Mammals of Asia | Mammals of Sri Lanka

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