Muntjacs ( ), also known as the barking deer or rib-faced deer, (URL is Google Books) are small

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the rei ...

of the genus ''Muntiacus'' native to

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, with remains found in

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent ...

deposits in France, Germany and Poland. Most species are listed as Least Concern or Data Deficient by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

, although others such as the

black muntjac The hairy-fronted muntjac or black muntjac (''Muntiacus crinifrons'') is a type of deer currently found in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian in southeastern China. It is considered to be endangered, possibly down to as few as 5–10,000 indivi ...

Bornean yellow muntjac The Bornean yellow muntjac (''Muntiacus atherodes'') is a muntjac species endemic to the moist forests of Borneo. Taxonomy It lives alongside the common muntjac. It is similar to its much more common cousin and was only recognised as a separat ...

, and

giant muntjac The giant muntjac (''Muntiacus vuquangensis''), sometimes referred to as the large-antlered muntjac, is a species of muntjac deer. It is the largest muntjac species and was discovered in 1994 in Vũ Quang, Hà Tĩnh Province of Vietnam and in ...

are Vulnerable,

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

, and Critically Endangered, respectively.

Name

The present name is a borrowing of the Latinized form of the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...

, which was borrowed from the Sundanese ''mēncēk''. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

form first appeared as in Zimmerman in 1780. An erroneous alternative name of 'Mastreani deer' has its origins in a mischievous Wikipedia entry from 2011 and is incorrect.

Description

The present-day species are native to Asia and can be found in India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Indonesian islands, Taiwan and Southern China. Their habitat includes areas of dense vegetation, rainforests, monsoon forests and they like to be close to a water source. They are also found in the lower Himalayas ( Terai regions of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

and

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

). An invasive population of

Reeves's muntjac Reeves's muntjac (''Muntiacus reevesi''; ), also known as the Chinese muntjac, is a muntjac species found widely in southeastern China (from Gansu to Yunnan) and Taiwan. It has also been introduced in Europe, western United States and Japan. It ...

exists in the United Kingdom and in some areas of Japan. In the United Kingdom, wild deer descended from escapees from the

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, a ...

estate around 1925. Muntjac have expanded rapidly, and are present in most English counties and also in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, although they are less common in the north-west. The British Deer Society in 2007 found that muntjac deer had noticeably expanded their range in the UK since 2000.Deer Distribution Survey 2007
The British Deer Society. Retrieved 6 September 2011. Specimens appeared in Northern Ireland in 2009, and in the Republic of Ireland in 2010. 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 In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

countries.

Tusks

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 an identifying feature to differentiate a muntjac from an immature native deer.

Water deer The water deer (''Hydropotes inermis'') is a small deer superficially more similar to a musk deer than a true deer. Native to China and Korea, there are two subspecies: the Chinese water deer (''Hydropotes inermis inermis'') and the Korean wate ...

also have visible tusks but they are much less widespread. Although these tusks resemble those of both water deer and the

Musk Deer Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, but rather their f ...

, the muntjac is not related to either of these (and they are not related to each other). The tusks are a quite different shape in each.

Genetics

Metaphase spread of the Indian muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak vaginalis)

Muntjac are of great interest in evolutionary studies because of their dramatic

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins ar ...

variations and the recent discovery of several new species. The Indian muntjac (''M. muntjak'') is the mammal with the lowest recorded chromosome number: The male has a diploid number of 7, the female only 6 chromosomes.

(''M. reevesi''), in comparison, has a diploid number of 46 chromosomes.

Species

The genus ''Muntiacus'' has 12 recognized species: * Indian muntjac or common muntjac or kakar, ''Muntiacus muntjak'' *

or Chinese muntjac, ''M. reevesi'' *

, ''M. atherodes'' * Hairy-fronted muntjac or black muntjac, ''M. crinifrons'' * Fea's muntjac, ''M. feae'' * Gongshan muntjac, ''M. gongshanensis'' * Malabar red muntjak, ''M. malabaricus'' *

Sumatran muntjac The Sumatran muntjac (''Muntiacus muntjak montanus'') is a subspecies of Indian muntjac in the deer family which can be the size of a large dog. It was discovered in 1914, but had not been sighted since 1930 until one was snared and freed from a ...

''M. montanus'' *

Leaf muntjac The leaf muntjac, leaf deer or Putao muntjac (''Muntiacus putaoensis'') is a small species of muntjac. It was documented in 1997 by biologist Alan Rabinowitz during his field study in the isolated Nogmung Township in Myanmar. Rabinowitz discove ...

''M. putaoensis'' * Pu Hoat muntjac ''M. puhoatensis'' * Roosevelt's muntjac, ''M. rooseveltorum'' * Truong Son muntjac ''M. truongsonensis'' *

Giant muntjac The giant muntjac (''Muntiacus vuquangensis''), sometimes referred to as the large-antlered muntjac, is a species of muntjac deer. It is the largest muntjac species and was discovered in 1994 in Vũ Quang, Hà Tĩnh Province of Vietnam and in ...

, ''M. vuquangensis'' * Northern red Muntjac, ''M. virginalis''

References

External links

BBC Wales Nature: Muntjac deer article
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q234121 Muntiacini Mammals of Asia Mammals of Southeast Asia Mammals of Bangladesh Mammals of Bhutan Mammals of Myanmar Mammals of China Mammals of India Mammals of Indonesia Mammals of Japan Mammals of Malaysia Mammals of Sri Lanka Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque