Indian Mouse Deer and Chousingha

Key Facts about Indian Mouse Deer

• The Indian Mouse Deer or Spotted Chevrotain is the smallest deer in India and is highly nocturnal.
• Scientific Name: Moschiola indica
• Distribution:
  • It is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent.
  • It is mainly found in peninsular India, with some old records from Nepal.
  • Sri Lanka has a separate species called the spotted chevrotain (Moschiola meminna).
  • Within India, it is commonly encountered in a number of forest areas along the Western Ghats, in the Eastern Ghats up to Orissa, and in the forests of central India.
• Features:
  • It is small, 25-30 cm at shoulder height, and weighs from two to four kg. 
  • The fur color of the Indian spotted chevrotain is dark brown with white underparts.
  • There are four or five light rows of white spots on the back. Males of this species have tusk-like upper canines.
  • A unique feature of this group is that instead of a four-chambered stomach like in other ruminants, they have a three-chambered stomach.
  • It forages on the forest floor for fruits, roots, leaves, and herbs.
  • It has occasionally been observed eating insects, crustaceans, and even small mammals.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN: Least Concern

Key Facts about Chousingha

• The four-horned antelope, or chousingha, is a small antelope found in India and Nepal.
• Scientific Name: Tetracerus quadricornis 
• Distribution:
  • It is endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
  • They are found in woodland areas throughout India.
• Features:
  • They are the smallest antelopes found in Asia.
  • As the name suggests, Chousingha can be identified by the four horns, as against other bovids, which have two horns.
  • They are usually diurnal and solitary by nature; however they can be spotted in loose groups of three to four.
  • Animals are sedentary, inhabiting more-or-less the same region throughout their lives.
  • They have a yellowish-brown to reddish coat and are slender, with small legs and a short tail.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable

Q1) What are crustaceans?

Crustaceans are invertebrates with a hard exoskeleton (carapace), a segmented body that is bilaterally symmetrical, more than four pairs of jointed appendages (“legs”) and an open circulatory system (the “blood” does not flow in a closed loop). Crustaceans make up a very large group of the Arthropods which include the crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill etc. Crustaceans are found in a wide range of habitats – most are free-living freshwater or marine animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice), some are parasitic (e.g. fish lice) and some do not move (e.g. barnacles).

Source: Visakhapatnam zoo gets new species from Warangal zoo as part of animal exchange programme

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