Physiological and ecological investigation of mouse deer and their conservation in Southeast Asia.

鼠鹿很早就从干祖先中分化出来，保存了原始反刍动物的遗迹。本研究对鼠鹿的生理生态特性进行了研究。尽管属于反刍动物类群，但它们表现出非反刍动物的特征，更具有非偶蹄动物的特征，具体如下.偶蹄动物脑的血液供应是通过颈动脉奇异网，一种特殊的动脉系统代替颈内动脉。无颈内动脉的偶蹄动物有奇异网，或奇异网和内卷动脉同时存在。鼠鹿是偶蹄动物中唯一没有颈动脉网的动物。在反刍动物的进化过程中，我们不能确定心形网的缺失是近形还是近形。与其它反刍动物不同，鼠鹿胎盘不是子叶型，而是弥漫型。胎儿-母体组织之间的组织学相互关系是合体绒毛膜的，滋养层双核细胞（BNC）在所有其他组织中起着核心作用。 ...更多信息 反刍动物然而，由BNC和母体组织融合形成的合胞体斑块在鼠鹿中是短暂的，不像绵羊和山羊的持续斑块。鼠鹿的胎-母关系似乎是从基本的内膜胎盘或血绒毛膜胎盘发展为合膜绒毛膜胎盘的遗迹。与大西卡鹿和赤麂相比，鼠鹿后肢肌肉集中于近端外侧和远端颅侧。距骨近端关节和后肢肌肉的形态特征表明，鼠鹿保留了原始反刍动物的运动模式，对跳跃的适应性大于对跑的适应性.反刍动物集合淋巴结具有不同的免疫功能，在集落和回肠集合淋巴结中分别存在B细胞分化和次级免疫组织。鼠鹿具有与其他反刍动物相似的菌落和回肠斑块组织学特征。它们似乎有功能上的差异，如牛和山羊。少

Mouse deer were diverged early from the stem ancestor and conserve the relics of primitive ruminants. In this research, we examined physiological and ecological characteristics of mouse deer. Despite ruminant group, they exhibit non-ruminant features, further more non-artiodactyl features as follows.1. Blood to artiodactyl brain is supplied through carotid rete mirabile, specific arterial system replacing internal carotid artery. Usual artiodactyls have rete mirabile without internal carotid artery or both rete mirabile and involuted artery. The mouse deer is only animal having no carotid rete among artiodactyls. We are unable to say whether absence of the caroid rete is plesimorphic feature or apomorphic during the evolution of ruminants.2. Unlike other ruminants, the placenta of mouse deer is not cotyledonary, but diffuse one. Histological interrelation between feto-maternal tissues is synepitheliochorial, and trophoblast binucleated cells (BNC) play the central role as in all other … More ruminants. However, syncytial plaques formed by fusion of BNC and maternal tissues are transient in mouse deer, unlike persistent plaques of sheep and goat. Feth-maternal interrelation in mouse deer seems to be relics of development of synepitheliochorial placenta from basic endo-or hemo-chorial placenta.3. Comparing with large Sika deer and Chinese muntjac, the muscles of hind limb in mouse deer concentrate in the lateral side of proximal area and in the cranial side of distal area. The proximal articulation of talus and the muscles of hind limb suggest that the mouse deer preserve locomotion pattern of primitive ruminants adapting for saltation more than cursoriality.4. Peyer's patches of ruminants serve different immune functions in colonial and ileal patches showing B cell differentiation and secondary immunue tissue, respectively. Mouse deer have colonial and ileal patches similar histological features in other ruminants. They seems to have functional difference such as in bovine and goat. Less