''Tragulus'' is a genus of

even-toed ungulate Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof). The other t ...

s in the family

Tragulidae Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are small, even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, and are the only living members of the infraorder Tragulina. The 10 extant species are placed in three genera, but several species also are ...

that are known as mouse-deer. In

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

τράγος (''tragos'') means a male

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

, while the Latin diminutive ''–ulus'' means 'tiny'. With a weight of and a length of , they are the smallest

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Euungulata ("true ungulates"), which primarily consists of large mammals with Hoof, hooves. Once part of the clade "Ungulata" along with the clade Paenungulata, "Ungulata" has since been determined ...

s in the world, though the largest species of mouse-deer surpass some species of '' Neotragus'' antelopes in size.Nowak, R. M. (eds) (1999). ''Walker's Mammals of the World.'' 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press. The mouse-deer are restricted to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

from far

Southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

(south

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

) to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

( Balabac) and

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. Following recent taxonomic changes, several of the species in this genus are poorly known, but all are believed to be mainly

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and feed on leaves, fruits, grasses, and other vegetation in the dense forest undergrowth. They are solitary or live in pairs, and the males have elongated

canine teeth In mammalian oral anatomy, the canine teeth, also called cuspids, dogteeth, eye teeth, vampire teeth, or fangs, are the relatively long, pointed teeth. In the context of the upper jaw, they are also known as '' fangs''. They can appear more fl ...

(neither gender has horns or antlers) that are used in fights. Unlike other members of their family, the ''Tragulus'' mouse-deer lack obvious pale stripes/spots on their upper parts.

Taxonomy

Traditionally, only two species of mouse-deer in the genus ''Tragulus'' have been recognized: The relatively large ''T. napu'' and the small ''T. javanicus''. Following a review in 2004, ''T. nigricans'' and ''T. versicolor'' were

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

from ''T. napu'', and ''T. kanchil'' and ''T. williamsoni'' were split from ''T. javanicus''.Meijaard, I., and C. P. Groves (2004). ''A taxonomic revision of the Tragulus mouse-deer.'' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 140: 63-102. With these changes, ''T. kanchil'' and ''T. napu'' are the most widespread species, while the remaining have far smaller distributions (though some uncertainty over the exact distribution limits of the various species in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

remain). *

Java mouse-deer The Java mouse-deer (''Tragulus javanicus'') is a species of even-toed ungulate in the family Tragulidae. When it reaches maturity it is about the size of a rabbit, making it the smallest living ungulate. It is found in forests in Java and perha ...

(''Tragulus javanicus'') * Lesser mouse-deer (''Tragulus kanchil'') * Greater mouse-deer (''Tragulus napu'') * Philippine mouse-deer (''Tragulus nigricans'') * Vietnam mouse-deer (''Tragulus versicolor'') * Williamson's mouse-deer (''Tragulus williamsoni'')

References

{{Authority control Chevrotains Mammal genera Taxa named by Mathurin Jacques Brisson Taxonomy articles created by Polbot eo:Tragoledoj