Moschiola, the spotted chevrotains, are a genus of small even-toed ungulates in the family Tragulidae. They are found in forests in India, Sri Lanka and perhaps Nepal, and have pale-spotted or -striped upperparts unlike the other Asian members of the family, the mouse-deer of the genus Tragulus.[1]
| Moschiola | |
|---|---|
| |
| "Tragulus meminna" from the Fauna of British India | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Tragulidae |
| Genus: | Moschiola Gray, 1852 |
| Type species | |
| Moschus meminna Erxleben, 1777
| |
In former times, the genus was usually treated as monotypic. Described as Moschus meminna, for most of the time the name Tragulus meminna was used, but changed to Moschiola meminna eventually. In the 21st century, this is increasingly divided into up to three parapatric species:[2]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
M. meminna sensu stricto | Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain | drier parts of Sri Lanka |
 |
M. indica | Indian spotted chevrotain | South Asian mainland north to Nepal |
 |
M. kathygre | Yellow-striped chevrotain | humid parts of Sri Lanka |
References
edit- ^ Nowak, R. M. (eds) (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ^ Groves, C.; Meijaard, E. (2005). "Intraspecific variation in Moschiola, the Indian Chevrotain" (PDF). The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement. 12: 413–421.
External links
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