The nine species of chevrotain, also known as mouse deer, make up the family Tragulidae. Chevrotains are small, secretive creatures, now found only in the tropical forests of Africa, India, Sri Lanka, and South-east Asia. They are the only living members of the infraorder Tragulina.

The word 'chevrotain' itself is French, and can be translated as 'little goat'. The Telugu name for the animal is "Jarini Pandi", which literally means "a deer and a mouse". The Konkani (Mangalore, India) name for it is "Barinka"

The Sinhala name meeminna (Sri Lankan sub species Moschiola memmina) roughly translates to 'mouse-like deer'.

Biology

The family was widespread and successful from the Oligocene (34 million years ago) to the Miocene (about 5 million years ago), but has remained almost unchanged over that time and remains as an example of primitive ruminant form. Chevrotains have a four-chambered stomach to ferment tough plant foods, but the third chamber is poorly developed. Like other ruminants, they lack upper incisors, and give birth to only a single young, rather than having pig-like litters.

In other respects, however, the chevrotains have primitive features, closer to non-ruminants such as pigs. They do not have horns or antlers, but both sexes possess enlarged upper canines. The male's are prominent and sharp, projecting either side of the lower jaw. Chevrotains have short, thin legs which leave them lacking in agility but also helps to maintain a smaller profile which aids in running through the dense foliage of their environment. Other pig-like features include the presence of four toes on each foot, the absence of facial scent glands, premolars with sharp crowns, and the form of their sexual behaviour and copulation.

The largest member of the family is the Water Chevrotain of Africa, at about 80 cm in length and roughly 10 kilograms. It is regarded as the most pig-like and primitive of the four. The remaining three all prefer rocky forest habitats. The Lesser Mouse Deer of South-east Asia is the smallest of all ungulates, at a mature size as little as around 45 cm (18 inches) and 2 kg (4.4 lb).