| Vietnam mouse-deer | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Tragulidae |
| Genus: | Tragulus |
| Species: | T. versicolor
|
| Binomial name | |
| Tragulus versicolor Thomas, 1910
| |
| |
| Range of the Vietnam mouse deer (2008)[1] | |
The Vietnam mouse-deer (Tragulus versicolor), also known as the silver-backed chevrotain, is an even-toed ungulate in the family Tragulidae known only from Vietnam. It was first described in 1910 by British zoologist Oldfield Thomas, who procured four specimens from Nha Trang in Annam. Little is known about its distribution and ecology. After 1910, the Vietnam mouse-deer was reported next in 1990 near Dak Rong and Buon Luoi in the Gia Lai Province. With increasing hunting pressure, habitat loss due to deforestation and no more reports of the species in the wild, the mouse-deer was feared to have gone extinct. The IUCN listed the species as Data Deficient in 2008. In 2019, a study confirmed the presence of the Vietnam mouse-deer in dry low-lying forests of southern Vietnam with camera trap evidence. The mouse-deer is characterised by a rough coat with a strange double-tone coloration unseen in other chevrotains; the front part of the body is reddish brown and contrasts strongly with the greyish posterior. It has big reddish brown ears, white and dark reddish brown marks on the throat.
- ^ a b Timmins, R.; Duckworth, J.W.; Meijaard, E. (2015). "Tragulus versicolor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T136360A61978789. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136360A61978789.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.