Vertebrate fauna of SE Asia
  

 

   
Home  
——————————  
SE Asia fauna ...  
   
Primates
 Carnivorans
 Large Mammals
 Small Mammals
 Mammal calls
 Bats
—————
Birds
—————
 Snakes
 Lizards & Crocodilians
 Turtles
—————
 Amphibians
 Tadpoles
 Frog calls
—————
Freshwater Fishes
 Marine & Brackish Fishes
—————
Species Lists
 





 


 
——————————  
New Guinea herptiles ...  
Snakes   Lizards   Frogs  
——————————  
SE Asia Vert Records (SEAVR) archives ...  
  Indochina Records
  Indonesia & PNG Records
 
——————————  
Philippines Vertebrate Records (PVR)  
Philippines Records  
Email :
 
——————————  
   
  New or updated pages ...
 
 
     
 
     
 
     
 
——————————  
 

Search this site ...

 
 


   

 
  ——————————  
 


Email :


Text and photos by Nick Baker, unless credited to others.
Copyright © Ecology Asia 2024

 
     
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

   
   
 
Greater Mousedeer
   
   

Fig 1


Fig 2


Fig 3
  

Fig 4
    

Order : CETARTIODACTYLA
Family : Tragulidae
Species : Tragulus napu

Head-Body Length : 52-57 cm
Tail Length : 6-10 cm
Weight : 3.5-4.5 kg

The Greater Mousedeer is a larger cousin of the Lesser Mousedeer. It occurs in tall, primary forest, secondary forest and, in some areas,  disturbed forest. In contrast to the Lesser Mousedeer it appears to be mainly nocturnal in habits.

Various features help to distinguish between the two species in the field. Firstly, the Greater Mousedeer is significantly larger weighing up to 3.5 kg, whilst the Lesser Mousedeer weighs up to 2.5 kg. Secondly, the fur of the Greater Mousedeer appears longer and more coarse than the other species, with orange to buff fur with blackish tips. Lastly, the white markings on the throat and upper chest are different to the Lesser Mousedeer : there is an extra short white stripe under the chin, above the long, inverted chevron.

Like its smaller cousin, the Greater Mousedeer feeds on fallen fruits, young shoots and forest herbs.

This species is somewhat less wide-ranging than the Lesser Mousedeer, occurring in Myanmar, southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore (Pulau Ubin), Sumatra, Borneo and the Philippines (Palawan).


Fig 1 : Male from lowland, primary forest at Taman Negara, Peninsular Malaysia. It has strongly orange fur. Note the lower canines protruding from the mouth.

Fig 2 : Adult from lowland, freshwater swamp forest.

Fig 3 : Juvenile from lowland, mature secondary forest.

Fig 4 : Adult foraging amongst soil which has been freshly exposed by the activity of Eurasian Wild Pig.

Fig 5 : Example from Sabah, Borneo, with extensive dark grey fur on the lower flanks. Photo thanks to Oliver Wearn.


References :

Francis, C.M. 2019. A Field Guide to the Mammals of South-east Asia. Second Edition. New Holland. 416 pp.

 

Fig 5
    

©  Oliver Wearn