Tragulus versicolor (Silver-backed Chevrotain)

[Bhagatí]

This very rare and possibly is extinct species. He is from Vietnam.
On net is illustrated, but I'm not searching and finded. My work about this species, is common - without success. I'm very liked search a illustration from this species. Is unfinded and no choise. Helped me - with him.Thank's

[another specialist]

A taxonomic revision of the Tragulus mouse-deer (Artiodactyla)

* E. MEIJAARD**E-mail: [e-mail] and
* C. P. GROVES

*
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, A.D. Hope Building, Australian National University, 0200 ACT, Australia

*E-mail: [e-mail]

Abstract

The taxonomy of South-East Asian mouse-deer (Tragulus) is complex, and after some 120 years of considerable taxonomic revisions of the genus a clear key is still lacking for the determination of species and subspecies. Through craniometrical analysis of 338 skulls of Tragulus and some study of coat coloration patterns we have come to a better understanding of mouse-deer taxonomy. Our results show that there are three species groups: the T. javanicus-group, the T. napu-group, and T. versicolor. Within the T. javanicus-group we recognize three species: T. javanicus (from Java), T. williamsoni (from northern Thailand and possibly southern China), and T. kanchil (from the rest of the range), and within these species we provisionally recognize 16 subspecies. Within the T. napu-group we recognize two species: T. nigricans (from Balabac), and T. napu (from the rest of the range); within these species we provisionally recognize eight subspecies. T. versicolor from Nhatrang, south-east Vietnam, is distinct from the two previous groups; it is, however, unclear whether this species is still extant.

© 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 140, 63–102.

www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00091.x/abs/

[another specialist]

Kuznetsov G.V., Borissenko A.V. 2004. A new record of Tragulus versicolor (Artiodactyla, Tragulidae) from Vietnam, and its sympatric occurrence with T. kanchil // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.3. No.1: 9–13 [in English].

Abstract : The first record of Tragulus versicolor Thomas, 1910 outside its type locality is described. One specimen was collected in the vicinity of Dak Rong and Boun Luoi, ~20 km north of Kan Nack (Gia Lai Province, Central Vietnam), collected in 1990 and deposited in the Zoological Museum of Moscow University. Peculiar external characters (pelage coloration pattern) indicate its authenticity from the sympatrically occurring T. kanchil (Raffles, 1821). Certain aspects of morphological differences between the two species and conservation issues relevant to the new finding are being discussed.

Key words : Tragulus versicolor, T. kanchil, Vietnam, new record.

www.orc.ru/~kmkweb/abstracts/kuznetsov.htm

[another specialist]

REDISCOVERY OF THE SILVER-BACKED CHEVROTAIN

Tragulus versicolor

In the April, 2004 issue of Oryx (p.133), attention was drawn to Tragulus versicolor, a possibly
extinct species of chevrotain or mouse-deer from Vietnam. The species is only know from a few
specimens collected in the beginning of the 20th century, all from Nha Trang, a coastal town in
central Vietnam. Recently, AVB and GVK reinvestigated several Tragulus specimens from
Vietnam deposited in the Zoological Museum of Moscow University, Russian. Among these
they found one with the unmistakable characteristics of T. versicolor. This specimen, an adult
male, had been obtained from local hunters in January 1990 nearby Tra River, c.20 km north of
Ka Nak in Gia Lai Province at an altitude of c.500 m.
This new T. versicolor specimen is important because it demonstrates that the species still existed
14 years ago and also significantly expands the range of T. versicolor. The specimen was
collected in tall forest in a river valley, giving some indication of the species' habitat. The
original vegetation of this area was lowland, semi-evergreen forest, with the understorey
relatively free of dense thickets and the forest floor well-exposed and passable. Much of this
once extensive vegetation type has now disappeared, but a few areas, some of which are
protected, still contain sizeable stands of semi-evergreen forest. Based on vegetation maps
(MacKinnon, J., 1996, Review of the Protected Areas System of the Indomalayan Realm) the
following protected areas could be important targets for a T. versicolor survey: Kon Ka Kinh,
Kon Cha Rang, Mom Ray, Nam Ca and Mam Lung

Source: Oryx/July, 2004

www.birdlifeindochina.org/report_pdfs/babbler11.pdf

[another specialist]

So last seen alive in January 1990.

So as many website state it's possible extinct.

At present not been able to locate a image either.

Will move to extinct category until we find anything that indicates that it still survives.

[sebbe67]

Thread already exist in rediscovered category.

[Melanie]

Seems that the rediscovery in 1990 was only a futile hope. Last seen 17 years ago is enough to move it to extinct.

sebbe67 said:

Thread already exist in rediscovered category.

[another specialist]

melanie said:

Seems that the rediscovery in 1990 was only a futile hope. Last seen 17 years ago is enough to move it to extinct.

sebbe67 said:

Thread already exist in rediscovered category.

That was my opinion been 17 years which is a long enough period to declare it as possible extinct.

So main reason why i moved it to extinct.

[another specialist]

sebbe67 said:

Thread already exist in rediscovered category.

sebbe67 said:

Tragulus versicolor


This is probably one of the least known animals in the world.

Its extinction has not even been managed, maybe beause that it was known from such a small area and that all specimens was collected in exactly the same area, in a forest outside Nha Trang a coastal town in Central Vietnam in the beginning of the 20th. This species is just known from very few specimens 3-4 in a museum in Russia. But there are a single specimens among these a adult male collected 1990 that was thought to be a recently collected specimens, collected by local hunters nearby Tra river 20km north of Ka nak in Gai lai province at 500m. But this is not 100% sure that it was collected in 1990 its just a gues. But in april 2004 some reserchers from Birdlife Vietnam made new reports of this species in areas in Central Vietnam and it was the finall proof that this small deer still lives.


www.birdlifeindochina.org/report_pdfs/babbler11.pdf


here is the article

This thread has been deleted.

[Bhagatí]

Thank's for most informations. I never, what have You thanking.
I'm yours debtor.

[another specialist]

My pleasure baghira - if i find anything else i will post here

[Bhagatí]

This hoofed mammal species is illustrated in book:

A Field Guide to the Mammals of South East Asia (2008)
- Charles M. Francis

more of this book on:
www.nhbs.com/a_field_guide_to_the_mammals_of_south_tefno_148719.html
press.princeton.edu/titles/8629.html

[Melanie]

SPECIES Tragulus versicolor

Author: Thomas, 1910.
Citation: Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, 5: 535.
Common Name: Vietnam Mouse-deer
Type Locality: Vietnam, "Nhatrang, Annam".
Distribution: Vietnam.
EXPORT AS CSV

www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14200183

[another specialist]

Feb 15, 2007 8:34:43 GMT another specialist said:

A taxonomic revision of the Tragulus mouse-deer (Artiodactyla)

* E. MEIJAARD**E-mail: [e-mail] and
* C. P. GROVES

*
School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, A.D. Hope Building, Australian National University, 0200 ACT, Australia

*E-mail: [e-mail]

Abstract

The taxonomy of South-East Asian mouse-deer (Tragulus) is complex, and after some 120 years of considerable taxonomic revisions of the genus a clear key is still lacking for the determination of species and subspecies. Through craniometrical analysis of 338 skulls of Tragulus and some study of coat coloration patterns we have come to a better understanding of mouse-deer taxonomy. Our results show that there are three species groups: the T. javanicus-group, the T. napu-group, and T. versicolor. Within the T. javanicus-group we recognize three species: T. javanicus (from Java), T. williamsoni (from northern Thailand and possibly southern China), and T. kanchil (from the rest of the range), and within these species we provisionally recognize 16 subspecies. Within the T. napu-group we recognize two species: T. nigricans (from Balabac), and T. napu (from the rest of the range); within these species we provisionally recognize eight subspecies. T. versicolor from Nhatrang, south-east Vietnam, is distinct from the two previous groups; it is, however, unclear whether this species is still extant.

© 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 140, 63–102.

www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2004.00091.x/abs/

The full PDF file can be found here

arts.anu.edu.au/grovco/Tragulus-Zool%20J%20Linn%20Soc.pdf

[another specialist]

arts.anu.edu.au/grovco/Tragulus-Zool%20J%20Linn%20Soc.pdf

[another specialist]

Taxonomy [top]
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA CETARTIODACTYLA TRAGULIDAE

Scientific Name: Tragulus versicolor
Species Authority
Infra-specific Authority: Thomas, 1910
Common Name/s:
English – Silver-backed Chevrotain, Vietnamese Mousedeer
Assessment Information [top]
Red List Category & Criteria: Data Deficient ver 3.1
Year Assessed: 2008
Assessor/s Timmins, R.J., Duckworth, J.W. & Meijaard, E.
Evaluator/s: Black, P.A. & Gonzalez, S. (Deer Red List Authority)
Justification:
There is no information on the current range or population status of T. versicolor because of a lack of appropriate survey work for the species in appropriate areas of Viet Nam: the areas where it is most likely to occur have not been well surveyed, and appropriate methods such as camera-trapping and specimen collection have been even less extensive. Therefore the species cannot be assessed against range size or, directly, population trend criteria. No strong ecological correlates are known sufficient to allow inferential assessment of population trends through habitat trends. The species' resilience to hunting is not known. Therefore, T. williamsoni is listed as Data Deficient because assessment of the taxon against red list criteria is not possible. Although there is only one record since 1907, there is no reason to consider it a Possibly Extinct Candidate, because the paucity of records is assumed to reflect the lack of suitable survey (see above). A more informed future judgment when sufficient data are available are likely to indicated that it is threatened. The population is almost certainly declining due to severe hunting pressure for ground-dwelling mammals, resulting in population reductions of even the most resilient species; it may be found to warrant a very high threat category particularly as there is no evidence of presence in high altitudes.
Geographic Range [top]
Range Description: The specimens used by Thomas (1910) to describe this species were acquired at Nhatrang on the coast of southern Viet Nam (12°15'N 109°10'E). The provenance of the specimens cannot be certain, although there is no specific reason to doubt it, because they may have been acquired in trade. Another specimen was obtained from local hunters on 16 January 1990 at about 500 m asl near the River Tra (a tributary of the River Ba) around Dak Rong and Buon Luoi, about 20 km north of Kan Nack (Gia Lai province, Viet Nam) and is now held at the Zoological Museum of Moscow University (Kuznetzov and Borissenko 2004). The true distribution of the species is unknown, because there has been very little conscious knowledge of the species, so surveys have not sought it; many have assumed that only one Tragulus occurs in most of Indochina and therefore not critically identified records. Confusion was fomented by the widespread inclusion of T. versicolor within T. napu, although in many external characters T. versicolor is more like T. kanchil than it is T. napu (Meijaard and Groves 2004a; R. J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008), meaning that even surveyors who thought they had correctly excluded ‘the second Indochinese chevrotain’ from their records of T. kanchil (then referred to as T. javanicus) had not in fact done so (e.g. almost all records from Lao PDR in the 1990s). Few, if any, records of Tragulus from Indochina other than those in Meijaard and Groves (2004a) and in Kuznetzov and Borissenko (2004) have been positively identified to species using criteria that could distinguish T. versicolor from T. kanchil. However, the species is certainly not as widespread as T. kanchil in Indochina (which is known from a scattering of specimens from throughout southern and central Indochina; Meijaard and Groves 2004a; E. Meijaard pers. comm. 2008), and analysis of Tragulus photos (by R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008) from camera-traps from a number of localities (central Annamites: Quang Nam; B. Long/WWF; Virachey NP; Huy Keavuth/WWF; Northern Annamites: Nakai-Nam Theun NPA; W.G. Robichaud/J. Johnson/WMPA; eastern Cambodian lowlands; Huy Keavuth/WWF) have either been of unidentifiable chevrotains or more commonly have certainly been of T. kanchil (R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008). The same appears to be true of photos from camera-traps from Siema Biodiversity Conservation Area in eastern Cambodia (J. Walston pers. comm. 2005 to R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008).

T. versicolor would be difficult to separate confidently from T. kanchil especially under field conditions and this is so even on photographs. Thus, building knowledge on the species is likely to prove difficult and time consuming (R. J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008). Distinguishing characters were discussed by Meijaard and Groves (2004a) and by Kuznetzov and Borissenko (2004). The latter, admittedly on the basis of a single specimen which, lacking a skull, could not be aged, confirmed the pelage pattern differences described in the earlier source, but suspected that T. versicolor might be smaller than sympatric T. kanchil, rather than consistently larger.
Countries:
Native:
Viet Nam
Population [top]
Population: There is no meaningful way of estimating population levels or trends. The paucity of records of the species cannot be taken as evidence of real rarity because of the likelihood that records of the species have in the past been mistakenly identified as T. kanchil (R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008). Kuznetzov and Borissenko (2004) stated that the specimen they identified as T. versicolor in 2004 had been noted at time of collection (1990) as oddly coloured, and that none of the other 24 chevrotains examined in the Buon Luoi area in the 1978–1993 period were similar. Also, the same team’s investigations further south on the Tay Nguyen plateau were quite extensive, and encountered and collected many chevrotains without any other specimens of T. versicolor having come to light in the Russian collections (Viet Namese ones have apparently not been checked). Retrospective statements without the specimens to hand can only be provisional and moreover even if the low ratio around Buon Luoi is genuine, this might simply reflect suboptimal habitat for the species at that site (e.g. through altitude, humidity, underlying geology). It cannot be taken as indicating that T. versicolor is generally rare across its range. It is impossible to determine whether T. versicolor is genuinely specialised to certain habitat types within a restricted range, or a common species (perhaps even the predominant chevrotain species) over wide areas of southern Indochina from where there is very little information on Tragulus rigorously identified to species (R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008).
Population Trend: Decreasing
Habitat and Ecology [top]
Habitat and Ecology: Speculation on habitat and altitudinal preferences are complicated by the diverse range of habitats (from deciduous to evergreen) and the abrupt changes in altitudinal range (sea-level to 500 m asl) in the two localities for which evidence of presence comes (R. J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008), taking Nhatrang as a true locality. The 1990 specimen came from an area from where 24 specimens of T. kanchil were collected during 1980–1993, indicating sympatry, although records are not located precisely enough to speculate on actual syntopy (Kuznetzov and Borissenko 2004).
Systems: Terrestrial
Threats [top]
Major Threat(s): Threats to the species are little more than speculation. The forests of Viet Nam are subject to very high levels of indiscriminate hunting especially snaring for small game such as chevrotains and civets (Timmins and Duckworth 2000; Timmins et al. 2007; R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008) and specifically this is so around Buon Luoi (Kuznetzov and Borissenko 2004). In general, hunting pressure may be somewhat lower in southern regions of the country although this region is less well known when compared with the northern Annamites and the northern parts of the Central Annamites (R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008). Whether this species would be able to cope with high hunting levels is not yet debatable as there are no relevant data, but some congeners persist in the face of very heavy hunting, even in fragmented and degraded landscapes (see 2008 Red List accounts of other Tragulus). Declines in T. versicolor are very likely to have happened to some extent, because even the most resilient ground-dwelling species in chevrotain size-class occur in unnaturally low densities in most forest areas of Viet Nam (Timmins et al. 1999; Timmins and Trinh Viet Cuong 2001; R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008). Spotlight surveys in protected areas around Buon Luoi totalling 100 hours in about year 2003 found no chevrotains (Kuznetzov and Borissenko 2004), but the significance of this is unclear, as chevrotains are absent or exceptionally rare in various Lao forests whence they cannot plausibly have been eradicated, given their persistence in other more heavily hunted and degraded areas (see 2008 account for T. kanchil). Hunting patterns are similar in Lao PDR and Cambodia, which may also be found to support the species, although the intensity and severity of hunting is generally less than in Viet Nam, but on the increase (R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008).

Habitat degradation and fragmentation may also be threats, depending on how well the species persists in such areas. These processes occur widely in the species' known range and throughout its plausible range. Habitat conversion is more likely to reduce or eliminate populations where it occurs, although there is no evidence of whether T. versicolor can use plantation crop landscapes. By the mid 1990s the area around Buon Luoi had been completely deforested and converted to agriculture (Kuznetzov and Borissenko 2004). Although protected areas remain in the general region, all are being logged and heavily hunted (Kuznetzov and Borissenko 2004). No information is available on the current status of the habitat whence came the original material, because this is not known precisely.
Conservation Actions [top]
Conservation Actions: Surveys (if possible combined with those for other poorly known and regionally endemic mammals) in the Southern Annamites and southern portions of the Central Annamites (in Viet Nam, Cambodia and Lao PDR) at a range of altitudes and in various habitats are urgently required to document the species’s range, status, and habitat and altitudinal preferences, using appropriate methods such as camera-trapping and specimen collection. Kuznetzov and Borissenko (2004) urged for particular attention to be paid to forests persisting around Nhatrang and Buon Loui; but given the lack of ecological similarities between these areas, either the Nhatrang location is in error or the species has a wide ecological tolerance. In either case, this urges surveys to be extensive rather than focussed on only these two areas. The suggestion in Meijaard and Groves (2004b) that "the main external differences between T. kanchil and T. versicolor are distinctive and it is likely that, if T. versicolor still exists, local hunters will know both species" should not be taken to suggest that village information alone would be a suitable survey method, rather that it may help in determining where to invest time and effort in camera-traps. After examination of three of Thomas’s (1910) specimens alongside specimens of T. kanchil from Indochina, R.J. Timmins (pers. comm. 2008) thought that field identification of Tragulus (or from photogpaphs) should be done very cautiously, and that there could be circumstances for confusion; experience with muntjacs Muntiacus in Indochina urges caution with both field identification and use of villager information in surveying for species (Timmins et al. 1998; R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008).

Until one or more populations are found, further conservation measures cannot be recommended additional to the general need to consolidate the declared protected areas in southern Indochina into functioning biodiversity conservation areas.

www.iucnredlist.org/details/136360

[Bhagatí]

Tragulus napu versicolor

Range
Vietnam

www.muinebeach.net/kalonsongmao.htm
(picture link)

from:
blog.naver.com/PostView.nhn?blogId=moho12&logNo=150017728531&categoryNo=0&viewdate=&cpage=1&listtype=0

[Bhagatí]

Seen this link (only skins):
zmmu.msu.ru/rjt/articles/ther3_1%2009_13%20Kuznez_Borisenko.pdf

[Bhagatí]

Tragulus napu versicolor 2
Date : 01.01.2009

Link:
www.photozoo.org/main.php?g2_itemId=39163

[another specialist]

Taxonomic Notes:

Thomas (1910) described this taxon as a new species noting differences from both T. napu and T. kanchil, but almost all subsequent authors subsumed the taxon within T. napu, from which it is apparently widely disjunct (contra the map in Corbet and Hill 1992). Meijaard and Groves (2004a), however, measured three of Thomas’s specimens and showed the taxon to fall well outside T. napu in morphological characters, and to form a grouping (based on skull measurements) well differentiated from all other Tragulus species.

Justification:

There is no information on the current range or population status of T. versicolor because of a lack of appropriate survey work for the species in appropriate areas of Viet Nam: the areas where it is most likely to occur have not been well surveyed, and appropriate methods such as camera-trapping and specimen collection have been even less extensive. Therefore the species cannot be assessed against range size or, directly, population trend criteria. No strong ecological correlates are known sufficient to allow inferential assessment of population trends through habitat trends. The species' resilience to hunting is not known. Therefore, T. williamsoni is listed as Data Deficient because assessment of the taxon against red list criteria is not possible. Although there is only one record since 1907, there is no reason to consider it a Possibly Extinct Candidate, because the paucity of records is assumed to reflect the lack of suitable survey (see above). A more informed future judgment when sufficient data are available are likely to indicated that it is threatened. The population is almost certainly declining due to severe hunting pressure for ground-dwelling mammals, resulting in population reductions of even the most resilient species; it may be found to warrant a very high threat category particularly as there is no evidence of presence in high altitudes.

Range Description:

The specimens used by Thomas (1910) to describe this species were acquired at Nhatrang on the coast of southern Viet Nam (12°15'N 109°10'E). The provenance of the specimens cannot be certain, although there is no specific reason to doubt it, because they may have been acquired in trade. Another specimen was obtained from local hunters on 16 January 1990 at about 500 m asl near the River Tra (a tributary of the River Ba) around Dak Rong and Buon Luoi, about 20 km north of Kan Nack (Gia Lai province, Viet Nam) and is now held at the Zoological Museum of Moscow University (Kuznetzov and Borissenko 2004). The true distribution of the species is unknown, because there has been very little conscious knowledge of the species, so surveys have not sought it; many have assumed that only one Tragulus occurs in most of Indochina and therefore not critically identified records. Confusion was fomented by the widespread inclusion of T. versicolor within T. napu, although in many external characters T. versicolor is more like T. kanchil than it is T. napu (Meijaard and Groves 2004a; R. J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008), meaning that even surveyors who thought they had correctly excluded ‘the second Indochinese chevrotain’ from their records of T. kanchil (then referred to as T. javanicus) had not in fact done so (e.g. almost all records from Lao PDR in the 1990s). Few, if any, records of Tragulus from Indochina other than those in Meijaard and Groves (2004a) and in Kuznetzov and Borissenko (2004) have been positively identified to species using criteria that could distinguish T. versicolor from T. kanchil. However, the species is certainly not as widespread as T. kanchil in Indochina (which is known from a scattering of specimens from throughout southern and central Indochina; Meijaard and Groves 2004a; E. Meijaard pers. comm. 2008), and analysis of Tragulus photos (by R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008) from camera-traps from a number of localities (central Annamites: Quang Nam; B. Long/WWF; Virachey NP; Huy Keavuth/WWF; Northern Annamites: Nakai-Nam Theun NPA; W.G. Robichaud/J. Johnson/WMPA; eastern Cambodian lowlands; Huy Keavuth/WWF) have either been of unidentifiable chevrotains or more commonly have certainly been of T. kanchil (R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008). The same appears to be true of photos from camera-traps from Siema Biodiversity Conservation Area in eastern Cambodia (J. Walston pers. comm. 2005 to R.J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008).

T. versicolor would be difficult to separate confidently from T. kanchil especially under field conditions and this is so even on photographs. Thus, building knowledge on the species is likely to prove difficult and time consuming (R. J. Timmins pers. comm. 2008). Distinguishing characters were discussed by Meijaard and Groves (2004a) and by Kuznetzov and Borissenko (2004). The latter, admittedly on the basis of a single specimen which, lacking a skull, could not be aged, confirmed the pelage pattern differences described in the earlier source, but suspected that T. versicolor might be smaller than sympatric T. kanchil, rather than consistently larger.

www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/136360/0