White-spotted Chevrotain

About this species

Size

Head and body typically 55–60cm

Habitat

Dry-zone forest, also coconut plantations and home gardens; seldom far from water

Range

Endemic to the dry zone of Sri Lanka

The white-spotted chevrotain, also called the Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain, is a small even-toed ungulate of the chevrotain family. In older literature the name covered all the spotted chevrotains, but it is now increasingly restricted to the Sri Lankan animal of the dry zone, with the Indian spotted chevrotain and the yellow-striped chevrotain treated as separate species. Head and body length is typically 55 to 60 cm. It is dull brown with three or four dotted white stripes along each flank (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is endemic to the dry zone, which covers most of the island except the wet zone occupied by the yellow-striped chevrotain, and is likely widespread there. It is fundamentally a forest species, common in all dry zone forest types, and also adapts to cultivated areas such as coconut plantations and home gardens. It is seldom found far from water. The 2012 national list gives it Least Concern, listed as the Sri Lanka mouse-deer, a name that may have covered the wider spotted chevrotain group (Sri Lanka National Red List 2012).

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