The dwarf musk deer or Chinese forest musk deer (''Moschus berezovskii'', ) is an

artiodactyl Artiodactyls are placental mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla ( , ). Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof). The other t ...

native to southern and central

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and northernmost

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The species name is after the collector Mikhail Mikhailovich Berezovsky. On June 14, 1976, China entered the dwarf musk deer onto its endangered species list. Four subspecies are recognized: *''Moschus berezovskii berezovskii'' Flerov, 1929 *''Moschus berezovskii bijiangensis'' Wang & Li, 1993 *''Moschus berezovskii caobangis'' Dao, 1969 *''Moschus berezovskii yanguiensis'' Wang & Ma, 1993

Parasites

As most animals, the dwarf musk deer harbours a number of parasites. In 2021, a study showed that ten species of Eimeria, which are apicomplexan protozoans living in the digestive tract, were specific of this host.

References

Notes

{{Taxonbar, from=Q277469 Musk deer Mammals described in 1929 Endangered Fauna of China Mammals of China Mammals of Vietnam