Chevrotains, or mouse-deer, are diminutive, even-toed ungulates that make up the family Tragulidae, and are the only living members of the infraorder Tragulina.

[4] In November 2019, conservation scientists announced that they had photographed silver-backed chevrotains (Tragulus versicolor) in a Vietnamese forest for the first time since the last confirmed sightings in 1990.

The Telugu name for the Indian spotted chevrotain is jarini pandi, which literally means "a deer and a pig".

[16] Though most species feed exclusively on plant material, the water chevrotain occasionally takes insects and crabs or scavenges meat and fish.

[4] Their legs are short and thin, which leave them lacking in agility, but also helps to maintain a smaller profile to aid in running through the dense foliage of their environments.

Other pig-like features include the presence of four toes on each foot, the absence of facial scent glands, premolars with sharp crowns,[18] and the form of their sexual behaviour and copulation.

Their territories are relatively small, on the order of 13–24 hectares (32–59 acres), but neighbors generally ignore each other, rather than compete aggressively.

[18] Some of the species show a remarkable affinity with water, often remaining submerged for prolonged periods to evade predators or other unwelcome intrusions.

The six extinct chevrotain genera[3] include: The extinct chevrotains might also include[31][32] According to the Malay Annals, King Parameswara, seeking a place to found a new city, came to a place where he saw a mouse deer (kancil in Malay) kicking his hunting dog into the river.