The smallest artiodactyl. The artiodactyl order is one of the largest animals among land mammals. Significance for a person

Javanese deer

The majestic deer have a tiny relative, the little Javan deer or Javan kanchil (Tragulus javamcus). It is smaller than a cat (height - up to 20-25 centimeters, weight - only 2.5 kilograms), outwardly resembles a hare, but proudly bears the title of the smallest of the ungulates. These unusual animals are residents of West Africa and South Asia. Outwardly, the animals resemble roe deer: with a thick body, bright eyes, a beautiful head, thin legs, small hooves and a tail, soft smooth hair of various colors.

Deer lifestyle

Adult males have fangs that are strongly curved, protrude 3 centimeters from the gums and point backwards. They are flattened, as if hollowed out from the sides, and have a cutting edge.

Young deer are no different from adults. Olenka can never be found in a herd, as he leads a solitary life and only during mating starts a pair. During the day, he rests, hiding in a dense bush, lying and chewing gum. All deer mark their territory with scent marks. During the day, a burrow of another animal, recesses under the roots of trees, extremely rarely, hollows located low from the ground can serve as a refuge for them. Animals swim well, dive, often hunt crabs, fish, shellfish.

Deer tricks

Deer eat insects small mammals. With the onset of darkness, they go out in search of food - all kinds of leaves, herbs and berries. They cannot do without water. All the movements of this little animal are beautiful, light and very agile.

Kanchil makes quite large jumps, and easily overcomes obstacles in his path. If the deer sees that he can become the prey of his enemies, he resorts to cunning. Just like the opossum, it calmly lies on the ground and pretends to be dead. When the enemy approaches, the deer abruptly makes one or two jumps and runs away with lightning speed.

Deer breeding features

Little is known about the breeding habits of the Javan deer. Perhaps they, like other ruminants, have only one cub. Within an hour after birth, the cubs are able to move after their mother. By 5 months of age, young animals reach sexual maturity. Quite often, deer are brought to Europe and kept in captivity. Many owners of menageries put deer on display. The Javan deer is very clean, constantly cleaning and licking itself.

Artiodactyls ( Artiodactyla) are the most diverse, largest, terrestrial living currently. It is the fifth largest, consisting of 10 families, 80 genera, and approximately 210 species. Although most artiodactyls live in relatively open areas, they can be found in the most various conditions and on every continent except Antarctica, Australia and Oceania. As would be expected in such diverse group, there are animals with a variety of physique and weight. Body weight ranges from 1 kg (Asian deer) to 4000 kg (). The height of the animals varies from 23 cm (Asian deer) to 5 m ().

Classification

Artiodactyls are divided into 3 suborders:

• Non-ruminant or porcine ( Suina) includes 3 living families: peccaries, hippos and pigs, as well as two extinct ones - anthracotheres and entelodont. These animals are distinguished by a simple digestive system and poor specialization. They have rounded teeth and tusk-like fangs.
• (Ruminantia) include families of deer, deer, giraffe, pronghorn, musk deer and bovid, as well as a number of extinct families. Unlike non-ruminants, representatives of this order have a complex digestive system. They lack upper incisors, but ruminants have a dense calloused ridge.
• callosities ( Tylopoda) contain one living family of camelids. Modern corns have a 3-chambered stomach. They have two-toed limbs, with blunt, curved claws. The feet of these animals have soft callous growths, thanks to which the representatives of this order got their name.

Note: if artiodactyl animals are classified from the point of view of phylogenetics, then they should be considered along with. These two orders form the superorder Cetaceans (Cetartiodactyla).

Evolution

Like many mammals, artiodactyls first appeared during the early . By appearance they were more like today's deer: small, short-legged animals that fed on leaves and soft parts of plants. By the late Eocene, the ancestors of three modern suborders had already appeared. However, at that time artiodactyls were far from modern, but were much more successful and numerous. Artiodactyls occupied insignificant ecological niches, and, apparently, at that time they began to develop their own complex systems digestion, which allowed them to survive by digesting low-quality food.

The advent of grass during the Eocene and its subsequent spread during , marked a major change: grass was very difficult to eat, and artiodactyls with well-developed stomachs adapted better to this rough food and soon replaced equids - the dominant terrestrial herbivores.

Cetaceans have been found to have evolved from artiodactyls, and an early whale from 47 million Eocene deposits had a double ankle joint. In some taxonomies, cetaceans and artiodactyls are placed in the superorder Cetartiodactyla as sister orders, although DNA analysis showed that cetaceans are from artiodactyls.

The most recent theory in the origin of hippos suggests that hippos and whales share a semiaquatic ancestor that diverged from other artiodactyls about 60 million years ago. The group of hypothetical ancestors probably split into two branches about 54 million years ago. One branch evolved into cetaceans, possibly beginning with the proto-whale Pakiceta from 52 mya and other early whale ancestors known as archaeocetes, which eventually underwent aquatic adaptation and became fully aquatic cetaceans.

Description

All artiodactyls have even number developed toes on each foot (although there is conflicting information about the number of toes on the hind feet of several species from the peccary family). The symmetry of the foot passes between the middle two toes and the weight of the animal is transferred most of all to them. The other toes are reduced, or vestigial, or absent.

Another important characteristic is the shape of the astragalus. Astragalus is the ankle bone in the hind limb. It has deep arched grooves, and connects to the bones of the limbs on both sides. These grooves give the leg greater flexibility and further increase the firmness of the lower hindquarters.

Artiodactyls vary greatly in appearance: some have very long necks, while others are short; some have elongated muzzles, while others have short muzzles, and so on. Female artiodactyls have two to four teats, but members of the pig family have six to twelve teats.

Almost all species have a kind of weapon, whether it be branched horns, forked horns, or well-developed fangs or tusks. They are usually large in males and small or absent in females. The tail consists of longer, stronger guard hairs and a shorter undercoat.

Digestive system

Artiodactyls have one or more digestive chambers located in front of the glandular stomach (abomasum). Most members of the ruminant suborder ( Ruminantia) have a four-chambered stomach, consisting of such departments as: scar, mesh, book and abomasum. This suborder includes such ruminant mammals as large cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, american bison, European bison, yaks, Asian buffaloes, deer, etc.

Nevertheless, deer (family Tragulidae) within the suborder Ruminants Ruminantia have a three-chambered stomach. Similarly, members of the callus-footed suborder Tylopoda(camels, alpacas, llamas) have a three-chambered stomach.

Note: all of these animals are still considered "ruminants", although camels are not included in the suborder Ruminantia. This is because the term ruminant simply means any artiodactyl that digests food in two stages, first softening it in the first stomach, known as the rumen, then regurgitating the semi-digested mass, now known as cud, and chewing it again. Therefore, the term "ruminant" is not synonymous with Ruminantia.

Pigs and bakers have only one small chamber in front of the abomasum, while hippos have two. While hippos have a three-chambered stomach, they don't "chew gum". Hippos consume grass during the night and during this time they eat about 68 kg. They depend on microorganisms that process coarse fiber in their stomach.

Most pig species have a simple two-chambered stomach that allows for an omnivorous diet; babirussa, however, is a herbivore. They have extra teeth that enable proper chewing of plant material. Most of the fermentation takes place in the caecum with the help of cellulolytic microorganisms.

Habitat

Since artiodactyls are a fairly diverse order, they are distributed throughout the world. Hence, these animals live in a wide range of habitats and can be found where sufficient food is available. Although these animals are distributed from to and , their preferred ones are:

• open : they provide artiodactyls with abundant food, and also allow you to notice predators at a long distance.
• pastures or meadows near steep cliffs: provide food for animals and provide relatively safe shelter in rocks and steep terrain.
• and shrubs: contain an abundance of food and offer shelter from potential predators in dense vegetation.
• ecotone: is an area between open areas and forests. While open areas provide abundant food, adjacent forests provide good cover from potential predators.

The preference for certain habitats is often associated with body size and taxonomy of artiodactyls. For example, most species of goats and rams ( caprinae) are found in open places habitats adjacent to rocky cliffs, where they have adapted to move over uneven terrain.

reproduction

Most artiodactyls have a polygynous breeding system, although some species are seasonally monogamous (such as the blue duiker). Artiodactyls usually breed only once a year, although some of them can breed several times. The gestation period varies from 4 to 15.5 months. In addition to pigs, which can have up to 12 cubs at a time, other artiodactyl offspring have up to two cubs, once a year. The weight of artiodactyls at birth can vary from 0.5 to 80 kg. Sexual maturity occurs between the ages of 6 and 60 months. The cubs of all artiodactyls are able to walk independently within a few hours after birth, and some are already running after 2-3 hours. Females take care of their offspring and feed them with their milk for 2-12 months after birth.

Lifespan

The life span of artiodactyls varies between 8-40 years. A large number of studies have shown that the survival rate of adult males is lower than that of females. It is believed that such rates are the result of increased polygyny, which leads to increased competition between males. Research also shows that aging-related mortality begins before about eight years of age for some artiodactyl species, regardless of gender.

Behavior

The social behavior of artiodactyls varies by species. Although some artiodactyls are solitary, most are quite social. It is believed that those living in large groups artiodactyls eat more vegetation because they do not have to constantly inspect the area and monitor the approach of predators. However, if the size of the group increases sufficiently, competition within the same species may arise.

Species living in groups often have a hierarchy, both among males and females. Some species also live in harem groups, with one male, several females, and their offspring in common. In other species, females and young stay together while males are solitary or live in bachelor groups and seek out females only during mating season.

Many artiodactyls are territorial and mark their territory with, for example, specialized glands, feces, or urine. There are species that migrate seasonally, while others remain in the same habitat throughout the year. Artiodactyls can be diurnal, crepuscular or nocturnal. In some species, the wake period varies depending on the season or habitat.

Significance for a person

Artiodactyls have great historical and present economic and cultural value. They served as large prey for early hunters. The Cro-Magnons relied heavily on deer for food, hides, tools, and weapons. Around 12,500 years ago, deer remains made up 94% of the bones and teeth found in a cave above the Seu River in France.

Today, many artiodactyl species are still hunted for food and sport (deer, antelope, African buffalo, wild sheep, etc.). In addition, the most important domestic animals are artiodactyls, including cattle, goats, sheep, pigs and camels. Sheep and goats were probably the first animals to be domesticated after dogs, perhaps 8,000 to 9,000 years ago. Livestock today is the backbone of a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. Artiodactyls, both wild and domesticated, are used by people for meat, fur, milk, fertilizer, medicines, bones, etc.

Little raccoon - of course, they heard ... But the little deer ... Perhaps you need to look through zoology or watch "In the Animal World". And you can read ... here ... about small, incredibly interesting and amazing little deer. Meet Javanese Kanchil… yes, yes, there are such miniature ungulates.

Small deer do not have branched horns, but there are impressive fangs, based on the size of the animal. Height Javanese kanchili, the smallest representatives of artiodactyls found in Southeast Asia, on the islands of Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra, in India and Ceylon from 20 cm (smallest) - small kanchil up to 80 cm (largest) - African water kanchil. Weight ranges from 1.5 kg to 5-8 kg, respectively. From the mouse, the kanchils got a grayish-brown coat with an orange tint, secretive night image life and omnivorousness. The small size helps them to move perfectly in dense thickets, not to "sink" in the swampy soil of the rainforest.

Kanchili usually give birth to two cubs and are very territorial, ie. are permanent "owners" of about 10 hectares of space. During the day, deer hide and sleep, at dusk and at night they hunt. Promiscuity in food for kanchili comes down to the fact that they eat not only vegetation - mushrooms, fruits, leaves, but also small animals, ranging from beetles to frogs and fish, which are perfectly hunted at small stakes. One of the species, the African water kanchil, can even be called an “amphibious mammal”, spends almost all the time in the water, hunts here, escapes from predators and swims beautifully. And also… mouse deer feed on… carrion. There are only 5 species of these most interesting animals on the planet. And in the Malay folklore, the kanchili is assigned the role of a cunning animal, like the Slavs - the fox.

Javanese kanchil(Javanese or Malay deer) is considered the smallest artiodactyl animal in the world, their height rarely exceeds 25 cm, and their weight is a maximum of 2.5 kg., It has similar dimensions to a cat or a hare. Despite not having the large, branching horns of their larger counterparts, the Javanese Kanchil has sharp and strong fangs, based on the size of the animal. Outwardly, the kanchil is very similar to the roe deer: a rather large (relative to its size in general) body, bright eyes, graceful legs with small hooves, a beautiful head; wool may be different color but always soft.

These are herbivores different shapes and sizes, whose descendants should be considered as the culprits or clippers of Africa and the Middle East. With three divisions, there are the first ungulates in North America and Europe. Mammals develop forms that adapt to life in the sea.

In widespread tropical forests This period termites live for the first time. Favorable tropical jungle world, the significant development of birds begins with the number of species, as well as the individual number. Numerous special shapes also appear.

The Javan deer lives in Southeast Asia, on the islands of Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra, as well as in India and Ceylon, West Africa and South Asia.

In addition to the fact that Javanese kanchil - the smallest artiodactyl in the world, these animals are considered to be one of the most ancient: its history of existence begins 50 million years ago, during the formation of groups of ancient ungulates.

The most overwhelming are experiencing a significant increase in new species. In the first encounter of the collision, the north-drifting front Indian subcontinent meets Asia. Around this time, the Afro-Arabic table is also moving forward against Eurasia.

In Messel, near Darmstadt, a tropical lake in the jungle landed. In its anoxic soil deposits, among many plants, a large number of animal fossils are in excellent preservation. Primary horses are of particular importance, the bats, numerous insect eaters, as well as protruding animals and "real" predators.

Javanese kanchili do not gather in flocks, they prefer a solitary lifestyle, and they get a couple for themselves only during the mating season. During the day, they usually sit among the bushes or in the holes of other animals, and at night they go out for leaves, herbs and berries - this is what kanchili like to eat. In addition to the above, they are also very good swimmers, which allows them to hunt crabs, shellfish and fish.
The behavior of Javanese kanchels when an enemy approaches is usually similar to the behavior of opossums: when the enemy approaches, the deer pretends to be dead, and as soon as the opportunity arises, it jumps sharply right in front of its nose and runs away.

In Central Europe lives a subordinate order of teeth, ants. Here is a family of vertebrates that is otherwise only found in South America. The first representatives of clown hooves develop from the original hooves. Fossil amphibians and reptiles, as well as birds of tropical wet biotopes, are especially common. Mighty sediments of limestone are deposited in the shallow sea of ​​warm water in the Paris Basin, Well-preserved vertebrate fossils of many species.

Thousands of farm animals, mostly mammals, are in a fossil trap near Egerkingen in Switzerland. They die in the karst column and fossils abound. Ancestors of horses and tapirs, as well as clown ungulates, carnivores and primates.

The breeding characteristics of Javan deer have not yet been fully explored, but most likely they give birth to only one cub, like most other animals. Newborn kanchili develop quite quickly: an hour after birth, they already quickly follow their mother, and at 5 months they enter sexual maturity.
Keeping the Javanese Kanchil is quite popular in Europe, where they can be kept in captivity, and many owners even send their pets to exhibitions or simply show other people such an unusual animal.

A fossil burial site is being built southwest of Cairo in the Fayoum Valley with a particular interest in development. The Faiyum fossils include the first mammals, early ungulates, the first whales, carnivores, and reptiles. The first remains of primates are also fossils.

During this time, the so-called sedimentation gaps, i.e. deposition layer failures are widely used. Large wave of species dying particularly affects mammal fauna Western Europe. At the same time, numerous new families of mammals are emerging.

A distinctive feature of the deer is his love for cleanliness: he constantly licks and cleans himself, so those who decide to keep him at home should take into account that the pet's cage must always be clean.

Its 35 members are spread over large parts of Europe, Asia, Northern and South America. The first "Urhirshe" seems to have appeared in Africa in the early Miocene about 25 million years ago, i.e. on a continent where deer have been largely displaced by various horned antelopes.

In the late Miocene, early ancestral ancestors spread across Africa from across Eurasia, developing a wide variety of forms. There are 15 different types of deer living in the New World today. From the Arctic Circle in Alaska to Magellan in southern Chile, they inhabit a wide variety of habitats. Among the New Zealand herds, the smallest and largest member of the deer family: With a shoulder height of less than 35 cm and a weight of 7 kilograms, the Northern Pudu is the undisputed dwarf among the Colombian, Ecuadorian and Peruvian Andes deer.

Small deer, or kanchil, or Javanese small kanchil (Tragulus javanicus) - a species of mammal from the deer family. The smallest artiodactyl on the planet. Lives in Southeast Asia.

small deer length from 45 to 55 cm, height at the withers from 20 to 25 cm and weight from 1.5 to 2.5 kg. Tail about 5 cm long.

And a giant family, the Alaska elk, with a shoulder height of up to 2.3 m and sometimes weighing more than 800 kilograms, is also found in the northern regions. North America. Distributed from Canada to Chile. In addition, the Opera Deer is located on the island of Curaçao, which is located off the coast of Venezuela and is part of the Netherlands Antilles. Thanks to human assistance he also managed to conquer a number of other Caribbean Islands, including the Greater Antilles in Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola. Thus, the species is divided into about 37 different subspecies.

The color of the coat on the upper side is brown. The underside and chin are white. The muzzle is pointed, the black nose is hairless, the eyes are very large. The physique is roundish, the legs, in contrast to the body, look unusually graceful. The horns are absent, the upper fangs are enlarged, in particular, in the male, like tusks, they stick out of the mouth.

However, this was discontinued after studies in the 1970s showed that there were no differences between North American, Central American, and South American Weisswedels, that their justification in several forms would be justified. The most striking difference between the various regional populations is the average size of people, which is indeed very variable. An adult male from Canada can reach a weight of almost 200 kilograms and a shoulder height of more than 100 centimeters, while an adult male from Florida, where the smallest subspecies, the so-called key white-tailed deer, is at home from 22 to 25 kilograms of body weight, barely weighing an eighth of them, and is usually only half the height of the shoulders up to 50 centimeters.

The area of ​​distribution of the species covers the territory from southern China (Yunnan) to the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java with nearby small islands. It lives in forests with dense undergrowth, often near water bodies.

Very shy animals leading a solitary lifestyle. Active mainly at night. During the day, they sleep in rock crevices or hollow tree trunks. At night, they go in search of food, laying tunnel-like paths in the thicket.

In all subspecies, the females are clearly smaller and lighter than the males. This is discarded after the rut and then reshaped. Each of the two parts of the horn consists of a shaft curved outward in a semicircle, usually with six or seven steps. Part 1 of the formula for success is exceptional adaptability to a wide variety of habitats and different climatic conditions. Weisswedel Hirschen seems to be able to live almost anywhere there is plant food. all year round, and where woody plants somehow convey some kind of coverage.

The only habitats they cannot colonize in their range are true dry deserts and tropical woodlands. In fact, when food is plentiful in their habitat, female white-breasted deer may already be pregnant for the first time as a teenager at 6 to 7 months of age and be born at 13 to 14 months of age for the first time. In addition, adult females over 18 months of age give birth to twins and sometimes even triplets under favorable conditions.

These are exclusively territorial animals, and the area of ​​​​the site for males is approximately 12 hectares, and for females - approximately 8.5 hectares. Communication uses markings of piss, dirt and secrets, which are great for dense and poorly lit jungles. The fight for the site between males is carried out with the help of long fangs.

In a natural lifespan of usually over twelve years, a woman can thus produce 15 to 20 young men in her lifetime. In less favorable living conditions, females usually do not start growing for the first time in their second year of life, and then usually give birth to "lone babies". Hesitation is an exciting time. Although it is quite common for white-backed women to reproduce themselves as teenagers, this is probably a big exception among men. IN wild nature, however, they are prevented by older, more strong men around them because of the massive rivalry during the rut season.

Little deer are primarily herbivores that feed on leaves, buds and fruits. In zoos, they also eat insects.

Females often mate again within a few hours after they give birth to cubs and can spend almost their entire lives in a state of pregnancy. After about 140 days of gestation, the female gives birth to one, rarely two cubs, which feed on an udder with four teats. Within 30 minutes after their birth, they are on their feet. After about 10-13 weeks, they are weaned from their mother, and at about 5 to 6 months of age, they become sexually mature. Life expectancy is 12 years.

For most of the year, deer, dressed in white whites, are peaceful creatures that exhibit aggressive behavior towards their offspring in exceptional circumstances. During the track season, which repeats every year, this changes drastically. Then each male tends to become the dominant "staster", thus gaining the prerogative of mating with resident females. Most of the fights that take place between rival males during this time are quickly over, as usually one of them soon acknowledges his submission and soon leaves.

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The most ancient artiodactyl animal on our planet - little deer. He is also known as Javanese small kanchil.

Deer appeared on Earth about 50 million years ago and outwardly almost unchanged. Kanchil is not only the oldest artiodactyl, but also the smallest. The height of the animal reaches 25 cm at the withers, the body length is about 50 cm, and the weight reaches 2.5 kg.

Deer live in tropical rainforests on the territory South-East Asia and Africa. Mammals are very shy and mostly nocturnal, during the day they hide in thickets, tree roots and hollows. It’s hard to believe it, but they are able to climb trees on their hooves, and excellent swimmers have also finished - hiding from predators, they can for a long time be under water.

They feed on leaves and grass, insects, small rodents, fish and crabs. Kanchili do not have horns, but they do have small fangs. Males have longer fangs than females and protrude like tusks. Fangs are used as a weapon against predators and a means in the fight for the female. The trail of fangs was painful and rather deep.