Moschiola meminna, Erxleben, 1777

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Tragulidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 320-334 : 329

1.

White-spotted Chevrotain

Moschiola meminna

French: Chevrotain meminna / German: Ceylon-Kantschil / Spanish: Ciervo ratén manchado

Taxonomy. Moschus meminna Erxleben, 1777 .

Type locality selected by Groves & Meijaard in 2005 as Wariyapola , 7° 37’ N, 80° 13’ E, North Central Province, Sri Lanka.

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Dry Zone of Sri Lanka.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 55-60 cm, tail 2-5 cm; adult weight 2-45 kg. Color and pattern much as in M. indica , but upper row ofspots does not extensively fuse into a continuousstripe on the shoulder. Size small, hindlegs relatively long. The following are diagnostic cf. M. indica : zygomatic breadth less than 5 cm, occipital height (from basion) less than 2-75 cm, width across canine alveoli less than 1-5 cm, braincase breadth less than 3-3 cm; and the following is diagnostic cf. M. kathygre. hindfoot greater than 12 cm.

Habitat. There is little information specific to the species’ habitat other than that this chevrotain lives in deciduous vegetation formations. It is basically a forest species, being found commonly in all forest types within the dry zone, but also in coconut plantations and home gardens. It is seldom far from water. A report of Sri Lanka chevrotain densities of around 0-58 ind/km? is likely to concern the Dry Zone species, but the original source has not been traced and without clarification of the underlying methodology and assumptions leading to the estimate,its reliability is unknown.

Food and Feeding. Nothing known.

Breeding. Nothing known. One captive specimen lived 14-5 years.

Activity patterns. Little known but presumably similar to M. indica , i.e. mostly crepuscular and nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Nothing known.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The justification for this listing is that a number of well-secured protected areas within the Dry Zone support chevrotains. Also, the effects of forest degradation and fragmentation on this chevrotain are probably not severe, given its ability to survive in home gardens and coconut plantations. Sri Lankan chevrotains are commonly hunted with firearms for their meat in areas where conservation management was suspended during the civil war, but it seems unlikely that this occurs at sufficient levels to restrain population numbers within reasonably-sized blocks of remaining habitat. In the Dry Zone they remain fairly common in forests even outside protected areas, despite widespread hunting. Hunting techniques that could be dangerous for chevrotains include a lot of trap guns in the forest and the use oflive electric wires, taken off posts, dragged through the forest, and set in rice paddies.

Bibliography. Dubost (2001), Duckworth & Timmins (2008), Eisenberg & Lockhart (1972), Groves & Meijaard (2005), Santiapillai & Wijeyamohan (2003).

Figures

Distribution. Dry Zone of Sri Lanka .