Water deer
| Water deer | |
|---|---|
| Male water deer at the Whipsnade Zoo | |
| Female and fawn at Hickling, Norfolk | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Capreolinae |
| Tribe: | Capreolini |
| Genus: | Hydropotes R. Swinhoe, 1870 |
| Species: | H. inermis |
| Binomial name | |
| Hydropotes inermis (R. Swinhoe, 1870) | |
| Range of water deer | |
The water deer (Hydropotes inermis) is a small deer species native to Korea and China. Its prominent tusks, similar to those of musk deer, have led to both subspecies being colloquially named vampire deer in English-speaking areas to which they have been imported. It was first described to the Western world by Robert Swinhoe in 1870.