◦ Home  
  ———————  
  Eco-news
◦ Latest
◦ Archives
 
   
  ———————  
Ec◦ Eco-focus

Southeast Asia
◦ Fishes - Freshwater
◦ Fishes - Brackish
◦ Amphibians

◦ Turtles
◦ Lizards
◦ Snakes
◦ Mammals - Bats
◦ Mammals - Other

Papua New Guinea
◦ Frogs
◦ Snakes

◦ Species List

 
  ———————  
  ◦ Eco-location  
  ———————  
  Contact  
  ◦ Singapore sightings
◦ Feedback
◦ Image policy
 
  ———————  
 

Text and photos by Nick Baker, unless otherwise stated

 EcologyAsia 2008
Copyright ©
 
 
     

 

 
   
Lesser Mousedeer
   

Male photographed at Central Catchment Forest, Singapore.

Order : ARTIODACTYLA
Family : Tragulidae
Species : Tragulus javanicus

Head-Body Length : 42-49cm
Tail Length : 6-9cm
Weight : 2.0-2.5 kg

References : M1, M2

Photos thanks to : Chan Kwok Wai

This shy, diminutive even-toed ungulate, measures less than 50 cm long. It ekes a living on the floor of primary and secondary forests feeding on leaves, shoots, fruits and sometimes fungi. It is mainly nocturnal, but is sometimes encountered still feeding in the early morning.

The fur is mainly reddish-brown, with white markings on the neck, and the underparts are pale. The legs are delicate and slender, the body arched, and the tail usually tucked beneath the hind-quarters. Males have protruding canines.

The species ranges from southern China, Indochina and Thailand through Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore to Sumatra, Java and Borneo.
 

 

 


Close-ups of the head showing the characteristic shape of the nose and the small protruding canines. (Note the blue retina revealed with flash photography)