Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain

Moschiola meminna redirects here. Before the 21st century, this usually referred to any species of Moschiola.

Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain
Sri Lanka spotted chevrotain at Field Museum, mounted specimen
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Tragulidae
Genus:	Moschiola
Species:	M. meminna
Binomial name
Moschiola meminna (Erxleben, 1777)
Synonyms
Moschus meminnaErxleben, 1777 Tragulus meminna(Erxleben, 1777)

Moschiola meminna is a species of even-toed ungulate in the chevrotain family (Tragulidae). Particularly in the old literature, M. meminna often refers to the spotted chevrotains as a whole. Today, the name is increasingly restricted to the Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain or white-spotted chevrotain, with the Indian spotted chevrotain M. indica ^[1] and/or the yellow-striped chevrotain M. kathygre treated as distinct species.

Description

Head and body length in the species typically is 55–60 cm (22–24 in). It is dull brown in color with three or four dotted white stripes going longitudinally along flank.^{[ citation needed ]}

Distribution

Moschiola meminn is endemic to the dry zone of Sri Lanka and it’s likely widespread throughout this region, which encompasses most of the island except for the wet zone inhabited by the yellow-striped chevrotain. ^{[2] [1]}

Habitat

This chevrotain is a denizen of deciduous vegetation formations within the dry zone. It is fundamentally a forest species, being commonly found in all dry zone forest types. It also adapts to cultivated areas, including coconut plantations and home gardens. The species is seldom found far from water sources. ^[1]

References

1. Duckworth, J.W.; Timmins, R. (2015). "Moschiola meminna". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015 e.T41779A73575223. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T41779A73575223.en .
2. Groves, C.; Meijaard, E. (2005). "Intraspecific variation in Moschiola, the Indian Chevrotain" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement. 12: 413–421.

External links

• America Zoo