Chital

Chital
Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene-Present
Stag
Doe
Both in Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Cervidae
Subfamily: Cervinae
Genus: Axis
Species:
A. axis
Binomial name
Axis axis
(Erxleben, 1777)
Distribution of chital (2011)
Synonyms
List
  • Axis major Hodgson, 1842
  • A. minor Hodgson, 1842
  • Cervus axis ceylonensis (J. B. Fischer, 1829)
  • C. a. indicus (J. B. Fischer, 1829)
  • C. a. maculatus (Kerr, 1792)
  • C. a. zeylanicus (Lydekker, 1905)
  • C. nudipalpebra (Ogilby, 1831)
  • Rusa axis zeylanicus (Lydekker, 1905)

The chital or cheetal (Axis axis; /təl/), also known as the spotted deer, chital deer and axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. It was first described and given a binomial name by German naturalist Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben in 1777. A moderate-sized deer, male chital reach 90 cm (35 in) and females 70 cm (28 in) at the shoulder. While males weigh 70–90 kg (150–200 lb), females weigh around 40–60 kg (88–132 lb). It is sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females, and antlers are present only on males. The upper parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots. The abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. The antlers, three-pronged, are nearly 1 m (3 ft 3 in) long.

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