Tufted deer
Elaphodus cephalophus Milne-Edwards, 1872
The tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) is a mammal in the family Cervidae, subfamily Cervinae and tribe Muntiacini, named by Milne-Edwards, 1872. It is a large, terrestrial, cathemeral herbivore with an adult body mass of 33.5 kg.
Quick facts about the tufted deer
The IUCN Red List classifies the tufted deer as Near Threatened, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is up to 22.7 years.
- Weight
- 17 kg – 33.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 22.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 181 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 20.7 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the tufted deer
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the tufted deer live?
Not recorded
What is the tufted deer?
The tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus) is a small species of deer characterized by a prominent tuft of black hair on its forehead and fang-like canines for the males. It is a close relative of the muntjac, living somewhat further north over a wide area of central China and northeastern Myanmar. Suffering from overhunting and habitat loss, this deer is considered near-threatened. It is the only member of the genus Elaphodus.
From the Wikipedia article “Tufted deer” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tufted_deer&oldid=1381775505), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the tufted deer endangered?
The tufted deer is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species.
How is the tufted deer classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyCervidae
- genusElaphodus
- SpeciesElaphodus cephalophus Milne-Edwards, 1872
Other names and names in other languages (24)
- أيل مقنزعArabic
- muntžak chocholatýCzech
- SchopfhirschGerman
- SchopfmuntjakGerman
- EláfodoSpanish
- Ciervo asiático de copeteSpanish
- Eláfodo o ciervo de copeteSpanish
- TukkhirvEstonian
- TupsuhirviFinnish
- tupsumuntjakkiFinnish
- ÉlaphodeFrench
- Bóbitás szarvasHungarian
- Cervo dal ciuffoItalian
- マエガミジカJapanese
- 솔기머리사슴Korean
- DuskhjortNorwegian Bokmål
- TopphjortNorwegian Bokmål
- KuifhertDutch
- jelonek czubatyPolish
- Cervo-de-topetePortuguese
- Хохлатый оленьRussian
- TofshjortSwedish
- กวางทัฟต์Thai
- 毛冠鹿Chinese
Relatives of the tufted deer
Other species in the same family Cervidae.
Moose
Alces alces
Reindeer
Rangifer tarandus
Red deer
Cervus elaphus
Roe deer
Capreolus capreolus
European fallow deer
Dama dama
Elk
Cervus canadensis
CompareTufted deer vs MooseTufted deer vs ReindeerTufted deer vs Red deerTufted deer vs Roe deer
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the tufted deer?
The tufted deer is a mammal in the family Cervidae, order Artiodactyla. It belongs to the subfamily Cervinae and the tribe Muntiacini.
How heavy is a tufted deer?
An adult tufted deer has a body mass of 33.5 kg, which places it in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).
What does the tufted deer eat?
The tufted deer is a herbivore.
Is the tufted deer endangered?
No, the tufted deer is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a tufted deer live?
The tufted deer has a lifespan of up to 22.7 years.
How many young does a tufted deer have?
A tufted deer has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 181.2 days.
Who named the tufted deer?
The tufted deer, Elaphodus cephalophus, was named by Milne-Edwards, 1872.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/tufted-deer
“Tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/tufted-deer.
@misc{tufted_deer_2026,
title = {Tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/tufted-deer},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}