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Moschidae is a family of pecoran even-toed ungulates, containing the musk deer (Moschus) and its extinct relatives.They are characterized by long "saber teeth" instead of horns, antlers or ossicones, modest size (Moschus only reaches 37 lb (17 kg); other taxa were even smaller) and a lack of facial glands. [1]
The ancestors of deer had tusks (long upper canine teeth). In most species, antlers appear to replace tusks. However, one modern species (the water deer) has tusks and no antlers and the muntjacs have small antlers and tusks. The musk deer, which are not true cervids, also bear tusks in place of antlers. [6]
For a long period, China cut more of its forest than they could replant. 200 million cm 3 [5] of China's forest resources were cut down in the past 25 years in order to harvest the timber stock in trade for commerce. Deforestation is a severe threat to the musk deer's long-term survival because the deer can only live in a few areas.
The water deer have developed long canine teeth which protrude from the upper jaw like the canines of musk deer. The canines are fairly large in the bucks, ranging in length from 5.5 cm (2.2 in) on average to as long as 8 cm (3.1 in). Does, in comparison, have tiny canines that are an average of 0.5 cm (0.2 in) in length. [32]
Cervids range in size from the 60 cm (24 in) long and 32 cm (13 in) tall pudú to the 3.4 m (11.2 ft) long and 3.4 m (11.2 ft) tall moose. Most species do not have population estimates, though the roe deer has a population size of approximately 15 million, while several are considered endangered or critically endangered with populations as low ...
The spikes can be quite long or very short. Length and branching of antlers are determined by nutrition, age, and genetics. Rack growth tends to be very important from late spring until about a month before velvet sheds. Healthy deer in some areas that are well-fed can have eight-point branching antlers as yearlings (1.5 years old). [23]
Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are diminutive, 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, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] but several species also are known only from fossils . [ 3 ]
Fanged deer may refer to deer with downward-pointing canine teeth or tusks. Kashmir musk deer, a fanged deer in Afghanistan Musk deer in general, inhabiting South Asia, East Asia, and Siberia; Water chevrotain, a small nocturnal mouse-deer in western Africa; Water deer, a true deer native to China and Korea.