Black muntjac

Description

One of the larger species of the genus Muntiacus,M.crinifrons can have a body mass as large as 28.5 kg,with females,on average,larger than males (24.1 kg and 23.1 kg,respectively).The pelage is mostly black to dark brown in color.The thick and long frontal tuft above and between the eyes is cinnamon red in color and often hides the long pedicles of the antlers.The tail is notably longer than in other species of Muntiacus (~21 cm) and is thickly tufted with white fur that extends onto the inner thighs.The ventral side is only slightly lighter in color compared to the dorsal side.During winter,the coat is much thicker and darker,but becomes thinner and lighter in color during the summer.Muntiacus crinifrons fawns have a coat similar to that seen in adults,except for the addition of four dorsal,subparallel,white spots.(Groves and Grubb,1990;Sheng and Lu,1980)