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 known only from fossils. The extant species are found in forests in South and Southeast Asia; a single species, the water chevrotain, is found in the rainforests of Central and West Africa. In November 2019, conservation scientists announced that they had photographed silver-backed chevrotains (Tragulus versicolor) in a Vietnamese forest for the first time since the last confirmed sightings in 1990.
They are solitary, or live in loose groupings or pairs, and feed almost exclusively on plant material. With an average length of and an average height of , the Java mouse-deer is the smallest surviving ungulate (hoofed) mammal, as well as the smallest artiodactyl (even-toed ungulate). Despite their common name of "mouse-deer", they are not closely related to true deer, hence the orthographic distinction by means of the hyphen.
Etymology
The word "chevrotain" comes from the Middle French word chevrot (kid or fawn), derived from chèvre (goat).
The single African species is consistently known as "chevrotain". The names "chevrotain" and "mouse-deer" have been used interchangeably among the Asian species, though recent authorities typically have preferred chevrotain for the species in the genus Moschiola and mouse-deer for the species in the genus Tragulus. and so cannot heat exchange cool blood entering their brains, a thermoregulatory innovation that allows other artiodactyls to exploit hot arid habitats. Though most species feed exclusively on plant material, the water chevrotain occasionally takes insects and crabs or scavenges meat and fish. Like other ruminants, they lack upper incisors. They give birth to only a single young.
In other respects, however, they have primitive features, closer to nonruminants such as pigs. All species in the family lack antlers and horns, but both sexes have elongated canine teeth. These are especially prominent in males, where they project out on either side of the lower jaw, and are used in fights.
thumb|Mating [[Tragulus|mouse-deer]]
They are solitary or live in pairs.
Taxonomy
Tragulidae's placement within Artiodactyla can be represented in the following cladogram:
Traditionally, only four extant species were recognized in the family Tragulidae. In 2005, M. indica and M. kathygre were split from M. meminna.
- Genus Dorcabune
- Dorcabune anthracotherioides from Pakistan
- Dorcabune nagrii from Pakistan
- Genus Afrotragulus Sánchez, Quiralte, Morales and Pickford, 2010
- Afrotragulus moruorotensis (previously "Dorcatherium" moruorotensis Pickford, 2001) (early Miocene) from Moruorot, Kenya
- Afrotragulus parvus (previously "D." parvus Withworth 1958) (early Miocene) from Rusinga Island, Kenya
- Genus Siamotragulus
- Siamotragulus sanyathanai Thomas, Ginsburg, Hintong and Suteethorn, 1990 (middle Miocene) from Lampang, Thailand
- Siamotragulus haripounchai Mein and Ginsburg, 1997 (Miocene) from Lamphun, Thailand
- Genus Yunnanotherium
- Genus Archaeotragulus
- Archaeotragulus krabiensis Metais, Chaimanee, Jaeger and Ducrocq, 2001 (late Eocene) from Krabi, Thailand
The extinct chevrotains might also include
- Genus Krabitherium
- Krabitherium waileki Metais, Chaimanee, Jaeger and Ducrocq, 2007 (late Eocene) from Krabi, Thailand
- Genus Nalameryx
- Nalameryx savagei
- Nalameryx sulaimani
Mythology
thumb|right|The supporters of the [[coat of arms of Malacca are two mouse-deer, alluding to the founding legend of Malacca.]]
According to the Malay Annals, King Parameswara, seeking a place to found a new city, came to a place where he saw a mouse-deer (kancil in Malay) kicking his hunting dog into the river. He thought this boded well, remarking, "This place is excellent. Even the mouse deer is formidable. It is best that we establish a kingdom here". This became the Malacca Sultanate and Malacca its capital. In memory of this founding legend, the coat of arms of Malacca depicts two mouse-deer.
The mouse-deer or Sang Kancil is also a well-known trickster of Malay folklore.