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IUCN 2008: T136799A61979620
Moschiola kathygre, Yellow-striped Chevrotain
Assessment by: Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.
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Citation: Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R. 2015. Moschiola kathygre. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species 2015: e.T136799A61979620. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20152.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
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THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Cetartiodactyla
Tragulidae
Taxon Name: Moschiola kathygre Groves & Meijaard, 2005
Common Name(s):
• English:
Yellow-striped Chevrotain, Yellow-striped Mousedeer
Taxonomic Notes:
Moschiola meminna was recently revised by Groves and Meijaard (2005) who restricted animals of this
name to the dry zone of Sri Lanka, concluding that the populations in the wet zone comprise a different
species, for which they proposed the name M. kathygre. Previous to this, all populations within
Moschiola were considered conspecific, under the name M. meminna (as the oldest in the genus) and,
prior to Groves and Grubb (1987), often as Tragulus meminna. The reality of the Groves and Meijaard
(2005) taxonomic hypothesis, of two distinct species of Chevrotain on Sri Lanka, one each in the dry and
wet zones (and perhaps a third in the hill zone), and another in India, would benefit from independent
confirmation: only three wet-zone skulls were available for the key analysis, making the significance of
their absolute separation from the dry-zone series difficult to assess. However, as skull differences covary with pelage and body proportions, their taxonomic proposals are followed here, in the hope that so
doing will encourage the generation of further information to consolidate or modify the arrangement.
The hill zone animals are not considered under this species.
Assessment Information
Red List Category & Criteria:
Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:
2015
Date Assessed:
November 13, 2014
Justification:
The extent of occurrence of M. kathygre is probably about 15,000 km2, within which it probably has an
area of occupancy (in terms of available habitat) of about 1,500 km2. On this basis the species could
potentially be listed as Vulnerable under criteria B1 and B2. However, there is no suspicion that this is a
species prone to wild fluctuations in numbers, it occurs in more than ten locations and there is no
evidence for an ongoing decline in numbers. Explicitly, changes in the wet-zone forest cover cannot be
used to infer a decline because of the species' wide habitat adaptability. M. kathygre is therefore listed
as Least Concern, but should there be an abrupt rise in the rate of complete vegetation clearance in the
wet zone, it would certainly qualify for at least the Near Threatened category.
Previously Published Red List Assessments
2008 – Least Concern (LC)
Geographic Range
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
1
Range Description:
The Yellow-striped Chevrotain occurs in the Wet Zone of Sri Lanka, from Sinharaja Forest through the
lowlands around Colombo north to Katagamuwa on the border of the Dry Zone at 6°24′N, 81°25′E, and
into the highlands at least to the Kandy district (Groves and Meijaard 2005): specific localities are given
in Groves and Meijaard 2005: 420). Riverine forests of the intermediate zone support some of Sri
Lanka's wet zone endemic forest birds (BirdLife International 2001): no information has been traced on
whether the wet zone Chevrotain uses such habitats. No published records additional to Groves and
Meijaard (2005) and following their suggested taxonomy were traced, although this species persists in
the Talangama wetland close to Colombo (Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne pers. comm. 2008). Objective
identification (i.e. not solely on the basis of habitat and location) of further animals at various localities
within the island is required to test the hypothesis of Groves and Meijaard (2005) of a strict segregation
of habitat between this species and M. memmina s.s.; these authors stressed their “admittedly small
sample sizes”. Currently it might be rash for species-level identification to be assigned to individuals
under the Groves and Meijaard (2005) taxonomic hypothesis solely on the basis of habitat.
Country Occurrence:
Native: Sri Lanka
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
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Distribution Map
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
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Population
Based on localities of confirmed specimens, Yellow-striped Chevrotain appears to be widespread within
the wet zone (Groves and Meijaard 2005), which is itself only a small proportion of the island. In the wet
zone, Chevrotains are common wherever there is relatively undisturbed secondary or better forest, and
densities may be in the order of ten per km2 or so; in the wet zone, Chevrotains are more abundant in
secondary forest than in primary, and occur commonly in rubber plantations and home gardens (R.
Pethiyagoda pers. comm. 2008). During extensive spot-light surveys of the wet zone in 2001,
Chevrotains were the most commonly seen mammal, being seen at many sites and almost every night,
but, while they clearly remain common, surveys in subsequent years to 2006 suggested that populations
in the survey areas were declining (K.A.I. Nekaris pers. comm. 2008). There are certainly some steep
local declines: for example, in the last eight years, the Talangama wetland close to Colombo have
probably lost more than half the available cover to housing projects and in peri-urban sites such as this
Chevrotains also suffer heavy predation by domestic dogs. Unlike the small village dogs, Colombo's suburbanites increasingly keep large dogs which make short work of native mammals (G. de Silva
Wijeyeratne pers. comm. 2008). With increasing fragmentation of wet-zone forests, the proportion of
animals in essentially small and spatially constrained areas, and so vulnerable to such localized
pressures, increases.
Current Population Trend: Unknown
Habitat and Ecology (see Appendix for additional information)
Information for the genus is reviewed under M. indica and, given the previous treatment of all forms of
Moschiola as conspecific, some of this information may relate to Yellow-striped Chevrotain. Differences
in ecology, other than the basic restriction to wet forest of this species, have not been clarified within
the genus. Yellow-striped Chevrotain freely enters rice paddies (K.A.I. Nekaris pers. comm. 2008), is
more abundant in secondary forest than in primary, and occurs commonly in rubber plantations and
home gardens (R. Pethiyagoda pers. comm. 2008).
Systems: Terrestrial, Freshwater
Use and Trade (see Appendix for additional information)
The species is hunted for its meat (see Threats for details)
Threats (see Appendix for additional information)
In past centuries, there has been a major loss of habitat available to this Chevrotain and thus in its
population, reflecting a rise in the human population of Sri Lanka from one million in the 19th century
to twenty million now (G. de Silva Wijeyeratne pers. comm. 2008). There is now, overall, rather little
forest habitat left in the wet zone: only 1,440 km2 of rainforest were estimated to remain in Sri Lanka by
Collins et al. (1991), and only 9% forest cover was estimated to remain in the wet zone (IUCN/WCMC
1997). This situation was caused by logging, fuelwood-gathering (domestic use and for brick-making),
agricultural conversion (including for tree crops), mining, urbanisation, and fire (Collins et al. 1991).
Legal protection of the remaining wet zone forests is quite effective (IUCN/WCMC 1997) but
encroachment of human populations is fragmenting and degrading them (National Environment Action
Plan 1998–2001). Even some protected areas have suffered severe degradation (Hoffmann 1996). In the
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
4
decade up to 2008, there has been a major growth in tea small holdings within the wet zone, which
were mostly forest patches until then (P. Fernando pers. comm. 2008). However, the level of threat
these activities pose to Chevrotains is unclear, because in the wet zone Chevrotains are common
wherever there is relatively undisturbed secondary or better forest (R. Pethiyagoda pers. comm. 2008).
In fact, in the wet zone Chevrotains are more abundant in secondary forest than in primary, so habitat
"degradation" by itself is unlikely to be a threat, especially as they also occur commonly in rubber
plantations and home gardens (R. Pethiyagoda pers. comm. 2008). Sri Lankan Chevrotains are hunted,
with firearms, for their meat in areas where security broke down during the civil war (Santiapillai and
Wijeyamotan 2003), but it there is no reason to suppose that this is at levels sufficient to drive major
population declines. Gun-hunting of birds was considered a limited threat, given the strict gun controls
wrought by the security situation and the high cost of ammunition by BirdLife International (2001), but
for Chevrotains snaring and other forms of trapping, not of concern to public order, may be more
serious.
Conservation Actions (see Appendix for additional information)
A number of well-secured protected areas exist within Yellow-striped Chevrotain’s range, within which it
is presumed to occur (and is confirmed from some). Perhaps most notable in terms of long-term
security is Sinharaja National Heritage Wilderness Area, a World Heritage Site which is actively protected
under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department (IUCN/WCMC 1997). Sri Lanka's protected area network
is extensive but is least developed in the wet zone. Expansion to cover nearly all forests remaining in the
wet zone has been proposed (IUCN/WCMC 1997). Following concerns that existing conservation laws
were ineffective, a moratorium was passed in 1990 to protect all wet-zone forests from logging and legal
protection of the remaining wet zone forests was shortly afterwards adjudged to be quite effective
(IUCN/WCMC 1997). Wet forest conservation within Sri Lanka is the essential foundation to the survival
of this species. The National Environment Action Plan (NEAP 1998–2001) gives a comprehensive
guidance for achieving this. It is also desirable to determine to what, if any, extent the species extends
outside the wet zone along riverine strips.
Credits
Assessor(s):
Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.
Reviewer(s):
McShea, W.J. & Brook, S.M.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
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Bibliography
BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife
International, Cambridge, UK.
Collins N.M., Sayer, J.A. and Whitmore T.C. 1991. Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the
Pacific. Macmillan with BP, IUCN and WCMC, London, UK and Basingstoke.
Groves, C.P. and Grubb, P. 1987. Relationships of Living Deer. In: C.M. Wemmer (ed.), Biology and
Management of the Cervidae, pp. 21-59. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA.
Groves, C.P. and Grubb, P. 1987. Relationships of living deer. In: C. Wemmer (ed.), Biology and
Management of the Cervidae, pp. 1-40. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., USA.
Groves, C.P. and Meijaard, E. 2005. Interspecific variation in Moschiola, the Indian Chevrotain. Raffles
Bulletin of Zoology 12: 413–42.
Hoffmann, T.W. 1996. New bird records in Sri Lanka and some connected matters. Journal of the Bombay
Natural History Society 93: 382–388.
IUCN. 2015. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org.
(Accessed: 23 June 2015).
IUCN/WCMC. 1997. Designing an optimum protected area system for Sri Lanka's natural forests.
IUCN/WCMC/FAO, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
NEAP. 2001. National Environment Action Plan. Ministry of Forestry and Environment, Colombo.
Citation
Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R. 2015. Moschiola kathygre. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015:
e.T136799A61979620. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
Disclaimer
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External Resources
For Images and External Links to Additional Information, please see the Red List website.
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
6
Appendix
Habitats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Habitat
Season
Suitability
Major
Importance?
1. Forest -> 1.6. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
-
Suitable
Yes
1. Forest -> 1.9. Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane
-
Suitable
Yes
5. Wetlands (inland) -> 5.4. Wetlands (inland) - Bogs, Marshes, Swamps,
Fens, Peatlands
-
Suitable
Yes
14. Artificial/Terrestrial -> 14.3. Artificial/Terrestrial - Plantations
-
Suitable
Yes
14. Artificial/Terrestrial -> 14.4. Artificial/Terrestrial - Rural Gardens
-
Suitable
Yes
14. Artificial/Terrestrial -> 14.6. Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical
Heavily Degraded Former Forest
-
Suitable
Yes
15. Artificial/Aquatic & Marine -> 15.8. Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally
Flooded Agricultural Land
-
Suitable
Yes
Use and Trade
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
End Use
Local
National
International
Food - human
Yes
Yes
No
Threats
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Threat
Timing
Scope
Severity
Impact Score
2. Agriculture & aquaculture -> 2.1. Annual &
perennial non-timber crops -> 2.1.3. Agro-industry
farming
Ongoing
-
-
-
Stresses:
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.1. Ecosystem conversion
1. Ecosystem stresses -> 1.2. Ecosystem degradation
Ongoing
-
Stresses:
2. Species Stresses -> 2.1. Species mortality
5. Biological resource use -> 5.1. Hunting & trapping
terrestrial animals -> 5.1.1. Intentional use (species is
the target)
-
-
Conservation Actions in Place
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
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Conservation Actions in Place
In-Place Land/Water Protection and Management
Occur in at least one PA: Yes
Conservation Actions Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Conservation Actions Needed
2. Land/water management -> 2.1. Site/area management
3. Species management -> 3.1. Species management -> 3.1.1. Harvest management
Research Needed
(http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/classification-schemes)
Research Needed
1. Research -> 1.1. Taxonomy
1. Research -> 1.2. Population size, distribution & trends
1. Research -> 1.5. Threats
3. Monitoring -> 3.1. Population trends
Additional Data Fields
Distribution
Estimated area of occupancy (AOO) (km²): ca1500
Estimated extent of occurrence (EOO) (km²): ca15000
Population
Population severely fragmented: No
© The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Moschiola kathygre – published in 2015.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en
8
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The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species
Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN
Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation
International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas
A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London.
THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™