Roosevelts' Muntjac

About this species

Range

Laos; possibly Vietnam, China and Myanmar

Roosevelt's muntjac, or Roosevelt's barking deer, is known from a single specimen presented to the Field Museum in 1929 following the Kelley-Roosevelts expedition organised by Theodore Jr. and Kermit Roosevelt. The specimen is slightly smaller than the common muntjac, and DNA testing has shown it to be distinct from recently discovered muntjac species (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is thought to be a subspecies of Fea's muntjac, whose home range is in mountains further north-west, separated by lower land, though its exact position cannot be stated without further evidence. Berlin Zoo supposedly held this species between 1961 and 1972, after an import from northern Vietnam, but the animal could have been an Indian muntjac. The species was believed extinct since 1929, but there have been several recent claims of rediscovery.

Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)