Muntjac

Muntjac
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Ruminantia
Family:	Cervidae
Subfamily:	Muntiacinae
Genus:	Muntiacus Rafinesque, 1815

Muntjac, also known as Barking Deer, are small deer of the genus Muntiacus. Muntjac are the oldest known deer, appearing 15-35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France and Germany.^{[citation needed]}

Description

The present-day species are native to Southeast Asia and can be found from India and Sri Lanka to southern China, Taiwan, Japan (Boso Peninsula and Oshima Island), and Indonesian islands. They are found in the eastern Himalayas. They are also found in Myanmar. Inhabiting tropical regions, the deer have no seasonal rut and mating can take place at any time of year; this behaviour is retained by populations introduced to temperate countries.

Reeves's Muntjac has been introduced to England, with wild deer originating from escapes from Woburn Park around 1925.^[1] Muntjac have expanded very rapidly and are now present in most English counties south of the M62 and have also expanded their range into Wales. The British Deer Society coordinated a survey of wild deer in the UK between 2005 and 2007 and reported that muntjac deer had noticeably expanded their range since the previous census in 2000.^[2] It is anticipated that muntjac may soon become the most numerous species of deer in England.

Males have short antlers, which can regrow, but they tend to fight for territory with their "tusks" (downward pointing canine teeth). The presence of these "tusks" is otherwise unknown in native British wild deer and can be discriminatory when trying to differentiate a Muntjac from an immature native deer although Chinese Water Deer also have visible tusks (downward pointing canine teeth) but are much less widespread.^{[citation needed]}

Muntjac are of great interest in evolutionary studies because of their dramatic chromosome variations and the recent discovery of several new species. The Indian Muntjac is the mammal with the lowest recorded chromosome number: The male has a diploid number of 7, the female only 6 chromosomes. Reeves's muntjac (Muntiacus reevesi) in comparison has a diploid number of 46 chromosomes.^[3]

The genus has 12 recognized species:

• Indian Muntjac or Common Muntjac, Muntiacus muntjak
• Reeves's Muntjac or Chinese Muntjac, Muntiacus reevesi
• Hairy-fronted Muntjac or Black Muntjac, Muntiacus crinifrons
• Fea's Muntjac, Muntiacus feae
• Bornean Yellow Muntjac, Muntiacus atherodes
• Roosevelt's Muntjac, Muntiacus rooseveltorum
• Gongshan Muntjac, Muntiacus gongshanensis
• Giant Muntjac, Muntiacus vuquangensis
• Truong Son Muntjac Muntiacus truongsonensis
• Leaf Muntjac Muntiacus putaoensis
• Sumatran Muntjac Muntiacus montanus
• Pu Hoat Muntjac Muntiacus puhoatensis

References

1. ^ The Deer of Great Britain and Ireland by G. Kenneth Whitehead
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Doris H. Wurster and Kurt Benirschke, "Indian Momtjac, Muntiacus muntjak: A Deer with a Low Diploid Chromosome Number." Science 12 June 1970: Vol. 168. no. 3937, pp. 1364-1366.

External links

• BBC Wales Nature: Muntjac deer article
• The Ecology of the Reeves Muntjac^{[dead link]}
•  "Muntjac". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.