Lesser Mouse-deer Tragulus javanicus/T. kanchil

Mouse-deer (also Mouse Deer and Chevrotain) are very small deer-like animals native to Southeast Asia (and related to Chevrotains of India/Sri Lanka and Africa). In 2004 the Lesser Mouse-deer, also called Malay Lesser Mouse-deer and Javan Chevrotain, a shy, crespuscular mouse-deer, was split into 3 species: "javanicus" was then applied only to the mouse-deer native to tropical rain forests of Java, Indonesia (renamed the Java Mouse-deer, above).

One of the others previously included in "T. javanicus" became "T. kanchil", above, applied to the mouse-deer over much of the Malay Peninsula and retaining the name Lesser Malay Mouse-deer (also Lesser Oriental Chevrotain). This species was now the smallest of the Mouse-deer/Chevrotain species.

Mouse-deer (and Chevrotains) are primitive deer-like animals which don't have antlers or horns but both male and female have extended canine teeth like small tusks, longer in the male. They are mainly nocturnal and solitary or paired and are among the world's smallest hoofed mammals with a rabbit-sized body and stick-thin, short legs.

The Lesser Mouse-deer (previous 3 subspecies) was the world's second smallest hoofed mammal, quoted at up to 30cm (12 inches) tall; (the Royal Antelope, at 25cm or 10 inches tall and slightly shorter head/body length is then the smallest ungulate). However, recent reports of T. kanchil have quoted a size of 20-25cm (8-10 inches) height at the shoulder, which would make the Lesser Mouse-deer the world's smallest ungulate.