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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 ]
It has an average tail length of about 5 cm (2.0 in). Mouse-deer are thought to be the most primitive ruminants based on their behaviour and the fossil record, thus they are the living link between ruminants and non-ruminants. [12] [11] The Java mouse-deer is endothermic and homoeothermic, and has an average basal metabolic rate of about 4.883 ...
The greater mouse-deer is an even-toed ungulate. Although very small for an ungulate, the greater mouse-deer is one of the largest members of its genus. It is rivalled in size by Williamson's mouse-deer. It weighs 5 to 8 kg (11 to 18 lb). Its head-and-body length is 70 to 75 cm (2.30 to 2.46 ft) and its tail length is 8 to 10 cm (3.1 to 3.9 in).
The meat is considered a delicacy on the islands, and the skin is also used to make leather. Although no true estimates of the Philippine mouse-deer population have been made to date, they are assumed to be declining in numbers. Hunters have commented that the mouse-deer is becoming harder to find. The biggest reason for decline is habitat loss ...
Size varies considerably; the smallest member, the mouse deer, often reaches a body length of only 45 centimeters (18 in) and a weight of 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). The largest member, the hippopotamus, can grow up to 5 meters (16 ft) in length and weigh 4.5 metric tons (5 short tons), and the giraffe can grow to be 5.5 meters (18 ft) tall and 4.7 ...
Within Ruminantia, the Tragulidae (mouse deer) are considered the most basal family, [15] with the remaining ruminants classified as belonging to the infraorder Pecora. Until the beginning of the 21st century it was understood that the family Moschidae (musk deer) was sister to Cervidae .
A prominent silver line runs down the back, hence the name "silver-backed". The neck and shoulders are more brown with less dense fur; unlike the lesser mouse-deer the fur on the neck is coarser and less prickly. The Vietnam mouse-deer lacks the dark markings along the flanks and the middle portion of the underparts visible in the lesser mouse ...
In Indonesian and Malaysian folklore, the mouse-deer Sang Kancil is a cunning trickster similar to Br'er Rabbit from the Uncle Remus tales, even sharing some story plots. For instance, they both trick enemies pretending to be dead or inanimate, [ 2 ] [ 3 ] and both lose a race to slower opponents.