Muntjac

Genus of deer

Muntjac

Temporal range: Miocene to present

Adult female and offspring (Muntiacus muntjak), in Malaysia, September 2012
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Mammalia
Order:  | Artiodactyla
Family:  | Cervidae
Subfamily:  | Cervinae
Tribe:  | Muntiacini
Genus:  | Muntiacus
Rafinesque, 1815
Type species
Cervus muntjak

Zimmerman, 1780

Geographic range

Muntjacs (/mʌntdʒæk/ MUNT-jak),[1] also known as the barking deer[2] or rib-faced deer,[2] are small deer of the genus Muntiacus native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. Muntjacs are thought to have begun appearing 15–35 million years ago, with remains found in Miocene deposits in France, Germany[3] and Poland.[4] Most are listed as least-concern species or Data Deficient by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), although others such as the black muntjac, Bornean yellow muntjac, and giant muntjac are vulnerable, near threatened, and Critically Endangered, respectively.[5][6]

## Name[edit]

The present name is a borrowing of the Latinized form of the Dutch muntjak, which was borrowed from the Sundanese mencek (IPA: məntʃək). The Latin form first appeared as Cervus muntjac in Zimmerman in 1780.[7][8] An erroneous alternative name of Mastreani deer has its origins in a mischievous Wikipedia entry from 2011 and is incorrect.[9]

## Description[edit]

Head of a muntjac Skull

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.[10] They are also found in the lower Himalayas (Terai regions of Nepal and Bhutan).

An invasive population of Reeves's muntjac exists in the United Kingdom and in some areas of Japan.[11] In the United Kingdom, wild deer descended from escapees from the Woburn Abbey estate around 1925.[12] Muntjac have expanded rapidly, and are present in most English counties and also in Wales, 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.[13] 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 countries.

### Tusks[edit]

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 also have visible tusks[14] but they are much less widespread.[citation needed] Although these tusks resemble those of both water deer and the musk deer, 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.

### Glands[edit]

Muntjacs possess various scent glands that have crucial functions in communication and territorial marking. They use their facial glands primarily to mark the ground and occasionally other individuals, and the glands are opened during defecation and urination, as well as sometimes during social displays. While the frontal glands are typically opened involuntarily as a result of facial muscle contractions, the preorbital glands can be voluntarily opened much wider and even everted to push out the underlying glandular tissue. Even young fawns are capable of fully everting their preorbital glands.[15]

## Genetics[edit]

Muntiacus muntjak chromosomes

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 (M. muntjak) 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 (M. reevesi), in comparison, has a diploid number of 46 chromosomes.[16]

## Species[edit]

The genus Muntiacus has 12 recognized species:

* Bornean yellow muntjac, M.atherodes
* Hairy-fronted muntjac or black muntjac, M. crinifrons
* Fea's muntjac, M. feae
* Gongshan muntjac, M. gongshanensis
* Malabar red muntjak, M. malabaricus[17]
* Sumatran muntjac M. montanus
* Southern red muntjac, Muntiacus muntjak
* Leaf muntjac M. putaoensis
* Pu Hoat muntjac M. puhoatensis
* Reeves's muntjac or Chinese muntjac, M. reevesi
* Roosevelt's muntjac, M. rooseveltorum
* Truong Son muntjac M. truongsonensis
* Northern red muntjac, M. vaginalis[18]
* Giant muntjac, M. vuquangensis

## See also[edit]

* Deer of Great Britain

## References[edit]

1. ^ Wells, John (3 April 2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Pearson Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
2. ^ a b "Notes and comments – The alien deer of the Chilterns". New Scientist. 9 April 1959. p. 784. (URL is Google Books)
3. ^ Baynes, T. S.; Smith, W. R., eds. (1884). "Muntjak" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
4. ^ Czyżewska, Teresa; Stefaniak, Krzysztof (December 1994). "Euprox furcatus (Hensel, 1859) (Cervidae, Mammalia) from Przeworno (Middle Miocene, Lower Silesia, Poland)" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 37 (1): 55–74.
5. ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Muntiacus vaginalis". 25 September 2015.
6. ^ "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Muntiacus Muntjak". 18 November 2015.
7. ^ "muntjac, n.", Oxford English Dictionary, 2003.
8. ^ Von Zimmerman, Eberhard August Wilhelm (1780), Geographische Geschichte des Menschen, und der Allgemein Verbreiteten Vierfussigen Thiere, vol. II, p. 131. (in German)
9. ^ Smith-Jones, C. (2020), 'Mastreani deer, a very modern hoax', The British Deer Society: Deer Journal Summer 2020 p25 https://online.fliphtml5.com/svis/tqfn/#p=12
10. ^ Jackson, Adria. "Muntiacus muntjak (Indian muntjac)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
11. ^ "Reeves's (or Chinese) Muntjac / Invasive Species of Japan". www.nies.go.jp. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
12. ^ Whitehead, George Kenneth (1964). The deer of Great Britain and Ireland: an account of their history, status and distribution. London: Routledge & K. Paul. pp. &#91, page needed&#93, .[,+Wikipedia:Citing+sources|page+needed],+&rft.pub=Routledge+&+K.+Paul&rft.date=1964&rft.aulast=Whitehead&rft.aufirst=George+Kenneth&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=2yDxAAAAMAAJ&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Muntjac" class="Z3988">
13. ^ Deer Distribution Survey 2007 Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine The British Deer Society. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
14. ^ Emily. "Chinese water deer". People's Trust for Endangered Species. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
15. ^ Barrette, C. (1976). "Musculature of facial scent glands in the muntjac". Journal of Anatomy. 122 (Pt 1): 61–66. ISSN 0021-8782. PMC 1231931. PMID 977477.
16. ^ Wurster, D. H.; Benirschke, K. (1970). "Indian Momtjac, Muntiacus muntiak: A Deer with a Low Diploid Chromosome Number". Science. 168 (3937): 1364–1366. Bibcode:1970Sci...168.1364W. doi:10.1126/science.168.3937.1364. PMID 5444269. S2CID 45371297.
17. ^ "Muntiacus malabaricus". Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
18. ^ Groves, C. (2003). "Taxonomy of ungulates of the Indian subcontinent". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 100 (2–3): 341–362.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muntiacus.

* BBC Wales Nature: Muntjac deer article
* Texts on Wikisource:
* "Muntjac". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
* "Muntjac". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
* "Muntjac". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.

* v
* t
* e

Extant Artiodactyla species

* Kingdom: Animalia
* Phylum: Chordata
* Class: Mammalia
* Infraclass: Eutheria
* Superorder: Laurasiatheria

Suborder Ruminantia

| Antilocapridae|

| Antilocapra|

* Pronghorn (A. americana)

|

Giraffidae|

| Okapia|

* Okapi (O. johnstoni)

|

Giraffa|

* Northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis)
* Southern giraffe (G. giraffa)
* Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata)
* Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi)

Moschidae|

| Moschus|

* Anhui musk deer (M. anhuiensis)
* Dwarf musk deer (M. berezovskii)
* Alpine musk deer (M. chrysogaster)
* Kashmir musk deer (M. cupreus)
* Black musk deer (M. fuscus)
* Himalayan musk deer (M. leucogaster)
* Siberian musk deer (M. moschiferus)

|

Tragulidae|

| Hyemoschus|

* Water chevrotain (H. aquaticus)

|

Moschiola|

* Indian spotted chevrotain (M. indica)
* Yellow-striped chevrotain (M. kathygre)
* Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (M. meminna)

Tragulus|

* Java mouse-deer (T. javanicus)
* Lesser mouse-deer (T. kanchil)
* Greater mouse-deer (T. napu)
* Philippine mouse-deer (T. nigricans)
* Vietnam mouse-deer (T. versicolor)
* Williamson's mouse-deer (T. williamsoni)

Cervidae|

Large family listed below

Bovidae|

Large family listed below

Family Cervidae

| Cervinae|

| Muntiacus|

* Bornean yellow muntjac (M. atherodes)
* Hairy-fronted muntjac (M. crinifrons)
* Fea's muntjac (M. feae)
* Gongshan muntjac (M. gongshanensis)
* Sumatran muntjac (M. montanus)
* Southern red muntjac (M. muntjak)
* Pu Hoat muntjac (M. puhoatensis)
* Leaf muntjac (M. putaoensis)
* Reeves's muntjac (M. reevesi)
* Roosevelt's muntjac (M. rooseveltorum)
* Truong Son muntjac (M. truongsonensis)
* Northern red muntjac (M. vaginalis)
* Giant muntjac (M. vuquangensis)

|

Elaphodus|

* Tufted deer (E. cephalophus)

Dama|

* European fallow deer (D. dama)
* Persian fallow deer (D. mesopotamica)

Axis|

* Chital (A. axis)
* Calamian deer (A. calamianensis)
* Bawean deer (A. kuhlii)
* Hog deer (A. porcinus)

Rucervus|

* Barasingha (R. duvaucelii)
* Eld's deer (R. eldii)

Elaphurus|

* Père David's deer (E. davidianus)

Rusa|

* Visayan spotted deer (R. alfredi)
* Philippine sambar (R. mariannus)
* Rusa deer (R. timorensis)
* Sambar (R. unicolor)

Cervus|

* Thorold's deer (C. albirostris)
* Red deer (C. elaphus)
* Elk (C. canadensis)
* Central Asian red deer (C. hanglu)
* Sika deer (C. nippon)

Capreolinae|

| Alces|

* Moose (A. alces)

|

Hydropotes|

* Water deer (H. inermis)

Capreolus|

* European roe deer (C. capreolus)
* Siberian roe deer (C. pygargus)

Rangifer|

* Reindeer (R. tarandus)

Hippocamelus|

* Taruca (H. antisensis)
* South Andean deer (H. bisulcus)

Mazama|

* Red brocket (M. americana)
* Small red brocket (M. bororo)
* Merida brocket (M. bricenii)
* Dwarf brocket (M. chunyi)
* Gray brocket (M. gouazoubira)
* Pygmy brocket (M. nana)
* Amazonian brown brocket (M. nemorivaga)
* Little red brocket (M. rufina)
* Central American red brocket (M. temama)

Ozotoceros|

* Pampas deer (O. bezoarticus)

Blastocerus|

* Marsh deer (B. dichotomus)

Pudu|

* Northern pudu (P. mephistophiles)
* Southern pudu (P. pudu)

Odocoileus|

* Mule deer (O. hemionus)
* Yucatan brown brocket (O. pandora)
* White-tailed deer (O. virginianus)

Family Bovidae

| Hippotraginae|

| Hippotragus|

* Roan antelope (H. equinus)
* Sable antelope (H. niger)

|

Oryx|

* East African oryx (O. beisa)
* Scimitar oryx (O. dammah)
* Gemsbok (O. gazella)
* Arabian oryx (O. leucoryx)

Addax|

* Addax (A. nasomaculatus)

Reduncinae|

| Kobus|

* Waterbuck (K. ellipsiprymnus)
* Kob (K. kob)
* Lechwe (K. leche)
* Nile lechwe (K. megaceros)
* Puku (K. vardonii)

|

Redunca|

* Southern reedbuck (R. arundinum)
* Mountain reedbuck (R. fulvorufula)
* Bohor reedbuck (R. redunca)

Aepycerotinae|

| Aepyceros|

* Impala (A. melampus)

|

Peleinae|

| Pelea|

* Grey rhebok (P. capreolus)

|

Alcelaphinae|

| Beatragus|

* Hirola (B. hunteri)

|

Damaliscus|

* Common tsessebe (D. lunatus)
* Bontebok (D. pygargus)

Alcelaphus|

* Hartebeest (A. buselaphus)

Connochaetes|

* Black wildebeest (C. gnou)
* Blue wildebeest (C. taurinus)

Pantholopinae|

| Pantholops|

* Tibetan antelope (P. hodgsonii)

|

Caprinae|

Large subfamily listed below

Bovinae|

Large subfamily listed below

Antilopinae|

Large subfamily listed below

Family Bovidae (subfamily Caprinae)

| Ammotragus|

* Barbary sheep (A. lervia)

|

Arabitragus|

* Arabian tahr (A. jayakari)

Budorcas|

* Takin (B. taxicolor)

Capra|

* Wild goat (C. aegagrus)
* West Caucasian tur (C. caucasia)
* East Caucasian tur (C. cylindricornis)
* Markhor (C. falconeri)
* Domestic goat (C. hircus)
* Alpine ibex (C. ibex)
* Nubian ibex (C. nubiana)
* Iberian ibex (C. pyrenaica)
* Siberian ibex (C. sibirica)
* Walia ibex (C. walie)

Capricornis|

* Japanese serow (C. crispus)
* Red serow (C. rubidus)
* Mainland serow (C. sumatraensis)
* Taiwan serow (C. swinhoei)

Hemitragus|

* Himalayan tahr (H. jemlahicus)

Naemorhedus|

* Red goral (N. baileyi)
* Long-tailed goral (N. caudatus)
* Himalayan goral (N. goral)
* Chinese goral (N. griseus)

Oreamnos|

* Mountain goat (O. americanus)

Ovibos|

* Muskox (O. moschatus)

Nilgiritragus|

* Nilgiri tahr (N. hylocrius)

Ovis|

* Argali (O. ammon)
* Domestic sheep (O. aries)
* Bighorn sheep (O. canadensis)
* Dall sheep (O. dalli)
* Mouflon (O. gmelini)
* Snow sheep (O. nivicola)
* Urial (O. vignei)

Pseudois|

* Bharal (P. nayaur)

Rupicapra|

* Pyrenean chamois (R. pyrenaica)
* Chamois (R. rupicapra)

Family Bovidae (subfamily Bovinae)

| Boselaphini|

| Tetracerus|

* Four-horned antelope (T. quadricornis)

|

Boselaphus|

* Nilgai (B. tragocamelus)

Bovini|

| Bubalus|

* Wild water buffalo (B. arnee)
* Domestic water buffalo (B. bubalis)
* Lowland anoa (B. depressicornis)
* Tamaraw (B. mindorensis)
* Mountain anoa (B. quarlesi)

|

Bos|

* American bison (B. bison)
* European bison (B. bonasus)
* Bali cattle (B. domesticus)
* Gayal (B. frontalis)
* Gaur (B. gaurus)
* Domestic yak (B. grunniens)
* Zebu (B. indicus)
* Banteng (B. javanicus)
* Wild yak (B. mutus)
* Cattle (B. taurus)

Pseudoryx|

* Saola (P. nghetinhensis)

Syncerus|

* African buffalo (S. caffer)

Tragelaphini|

| Tragelaphus
(including kudus)|

* Nyala (T. angasii)
* Mountain nyala (T. buxtoni)
* Bongo (T. eurycerus)
* Lesser kudu (T. imberbis)
* Harnessed bushbuck (T. scriptus)
* Sitatunga (T. spekeii)
* Greater kudu (T. strepsiceros)
* Cape bushbuck (T. sylvaticus)

|

Taurotragus|

* Giant eland (T. derbianus)
* Common eland (T. oryx)

Family Bovidae (subfamily Antilopinae)

| Antilopini|

| Ammodorcas|

* Dibatag (A. clarkei)

|

Antidorcas|

* Springbok (A. marsupialis)

Antilope|

* Blackbuck (A. cervicapra)

Eudorcas|

* Mongalla gazelle (E. albonotata)
* Red-fronted gazelle (E. rufifrons)
* Thomson's gazelle (E. thomsonii)
* Heuglin's gazelle (E. tilonura)

Gazella|

* Chinkara (G. bennettii)
* Cuvier's gazelle (G. cuvieri)
* Dorcas gazelle (G. dorcas)
* Erlanger's gazelle (G. erlangeri)
* Mountain gazelle (G. gazella)
* Rhim gazelle (G. leptoceros)
* Speke's gazelle (G. spekei)
* Goitered gazelle (G. subgutturosa)

Litocranius|

* Gerenuk (L. walleri)

Nanger|

* Dama gazelle (N. dama)
* Grant's gazelle (N. granti)
* Bright's gazelle (N. notatus)
* Peter's gazelle (N. petersii)
* Soemmerring's gazelle (N. soemmerringii)

Procapra|

* Mongolian gazelle (P. gutturosa)
* Goa (P. picticaudata)
* Przewalski's gazelle (P. przewalskii)

Saigini|

| Pantholops|

* Tibetan antelope (P. hodgsonii)

|

Saiga|

* Saiga antelope (S. tatarica)

Neotragini|

| Dorcatragus|

* Beira (D. megalotis)

|

Madoqua|

* Günther's dik-dik (M. guentheri)
* Kirk's dik-dik (M. kirkii)
* Silver dik-dik (M. piacentinii)
* Salt's dik-dik (M. saltiana)

Neotragus|

* Bates' pygmy antelope (N. batesi)
* Suni (N. moschatus)
* Royal antelope (N. pygmaeus)

Oreotragus|

* Klipspringer (O. oreotragus)

Ourebia|

* Oribi (O. ourebi)

Raphicerus|

* Steenbok (R. campestris)
* Cape grysbok (R. melanotis)
* Sharpe's grysbok (R. sharpei)

Cephalophini|

| Cephalophus|

* Aders's duiker (C. adersi)
* Brooke's duiker (C. brookei)
* Peters' duiker (C. callipygus)
* White-legged duiker (C. crusalbum)
* Bay duiker (C. dorsalis)
* Harvey's duiker (C. harveyi)
* Jentink's duiker (C. jentinki)
* White-bellied duiker (C. leucogaster)
* Red forest duiker (C. natalensis)
* Black duiker (C. niger)
* Black-fronted duiker (C. nigrifrons)
* Ogilby's duiker (C. ogilbyi)
* Ruwenzori duiker (C. rubidis)
* Red-flanked duiker (C. rufilatus)
* Yellow-backed duiker (C. silvicultor)
* Abbott's duiker (C. spadix)
* Weyns's duiker (C. weynsi)
* Zebra duiker (C. zebra)

|

Philantomba|

* Blue duiker (P. monticola)
* Maxwell's duiker (P. maxwellii)
* Walter's duiker (P. walteri)

Sylvicapra|

* Common duiker (S. grimmia)

Suborder Suina

| Suidae|

| Babyrousa|

* Buru babirusa (B. babyrussa)
* North Sulawesi babirusa (B. celebensis)
* Togian babirusa (B. togeanensis)

|

Hylochoerus|

* Giant forest hog (H. meinertzhageni)

Phacochoerus|

* Desert warthog (P. aethiopicus)
* Common warthog (P. africanus)

Porcula|

* Pygmy hog (P. salvania)

Potamochoerus|

* Bushpig (P. larvatus)
* Red river hog (P. porcus)

Sus|

* Palawan bearded pig (S. ahoenobarbus)
* Bornean bearded pig (S. barbatus)
* Visayan warty pig (S. cebifrons)
* Celebes warty pig (S. celebensis)
* Domestic pig (S. domesticus)
* Flores warty pig (S. heureni)
* Oliver's warty pig (S. oliveri)
* Philippine warty pig (S. philippensis)
* Wild boar (S. scrofa)
* Timor warty pig (S. timoriensis)
* Javan warty pig (S. verrucosus)

Tayassuidae|

| Tayassu|

* White-lipped peccary (T. pecari)

|

Catagonus|

* Chacoan peccary (C. wagneri)

Dicotyles|

* Collared peccary (D. tajacu)

Suborder Tylopoda

| Camelidae|

| Lama|

* Llama (L. glama)
* Guanaco (L. guanicoe)
* Alpaca (L. pacos)
* Vicuña (L. vicugna)

|

Camelus|

* Domestic Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus)
* Dromedary/Arabian camel (C. dromedarius)
* Wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus)

Suborder Whippomorpha

| Hippopotamidae|

| Hippopotamus|

* Hippopotamus (H. amphibius)

|

Choeropsis|

* Pygmy hippopotamus (C. liberiensis)

Cetacea|

* see Cetacea

Taxon identifiers|

* Wikidata: Q234121
* Wikispecies: Muntiacus
* BOLD: 6903
* CoL: 5VRH
* EoL: 38814
* EPPO: 1MUNTG
* Fauna Europaea: 305268
* Fauna Europaea (new): 5687b516-7d2f-4e17-ac04-c492c3dac557
* Fossilworks: 42680
* GBIF: 2440941
* iNaturalist: 42185
* ITIS: 624954
* MSW: 14200400
* NBN: NBNSYS0000135342
* NCBI: 9885
* Plazi: 1D94598A-648F-C69D-3CEC-A3D291CFF5CD
* ZooBank: 4EBB9460-C761-4998-967B-27AB7DFD4074

|

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