Musk deer

Musk deer
Temporal range: Early Oligocene–recent
Siberian musk deer
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Synapsida
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Moschidae
Gray, 1821
Genus: Moschus
Linnaeus, 1758
Species

Musk deer can refer to any one, or all seven, of the species that make up Moschus, the only extant genus of the family Moschidae.[1] The musk deer family differs from cervids, or true deer, by lacking antlers and facial glands and by possessing only a single pair of teats, a gallbladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth and—of particular economic importance to humans—a musk gland.

Musk deer live mainly in forested and alpine scrub habitats in the mountains of southern Asia, notably the Himalayas. Moschids, the proper term when referring to this type of deer rather than one/multiple species of musk deer, are entirely Asian in their present distribution, being extinct in Europe where the earliest musk deer are known to have existed from Oligocene deposits.

Characteristics

Skull of a buck showing the trademark teeth
Skeleton of Micromeryx showing the general skeletal features

Musk deer resemble small deer with a stocky build, and hind legs longer than their front legs. They are about 80 to 100 cm (31 to 39 in) long, 50 to 70 cm (20 to 28 in) high at the shoulder, and weigh between 7 and 17 kg (15 and 37 lb). The feet of musk deer are adapted for climbing in rough terrain. Like the Chinese water deer, a cervid, they have no antlers, but the males do have enlarged upper canines, forming sabre-like tusks. The dental formula is similar to that of true deer: 0.1.3.33.1.3.3

The musk gland is found only in adult males. It lies in a sac located between the genitals and the umbilicus, and its secretions are most likely used to attract mates.

Musk deer are herbivores, living in hilly, forested environments, generally far from human habitation. Like true deer, they eat mainly leaves, flowers, and grasses, with some mosses and lichens. They are solitary animals, and maintain well-defined territories, which they scent mark with their caudal glands. Musk deer are generally shy, and either nocturnal, or crepuscular.

Males leave their territories during the rutting season, and compete for mates, using their tusks as weapons. Female musk deer give birth to a single fawn after about 150–180 days. The newborn young are very small, and essentially motionless for the first month of their lives, a feature that helps them remain hidden from predators.[2]

Musk deers have been hunted for their scent glands, which are commonly used in perfumes. The glands can fetch up to $45,000/kg on the black market. It is rumored that ancient royalty wore the scent of the musk deer and that it is an aphrodisiac.[3]

Evolution

Reconstruction of the extinct American species Blastomeryx gemmifer
Reconstruction of the extinct genus Micromeryx
Siberian musk deer
Dwarf musk deer
Black musk deer

Musk deer may be a surviving representative of the Palaeomerycidae, a family of ruminants that is probably ancestral to deer. They originated in the early Oligocene epoch and disappeared in the Pliocene. Most species lacked antlers, though some were found in later species. The musk deer are, however, still placed in a separate family.

Taxonomy

While they have been traditionally classified as members of the deer family (as the subfamily "Moschinae") and all the species were classified as one species (under Moschus moschiferus), recent studies have indicated that moschids are more closely related to bovids (antelope, goat-antelope and wild cattle).[4] The following taxonomy is after Prothero (2007)[5]

Moschidae

References

  1. ↑ University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - Animal Diversity Web - Moschus (musk deer) Classification http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Moschus.html#Moschus
  2. ↑ Frädrich, Hans (1984). Macdonald, D., ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 518–9. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
  3. ↑ Wild Russia, Discovery Channel
  4. ↑ Molecular and Morphological Phylogenies of Ruminantia and the Alternative Position of the Moschidae http://www.isem.cnrs.fr/IMG/pdf/Hassanin_2003-SystBiol.pdf
  5. ↑ Prothero, 2007 (p. 221-226)
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