Axis is a genus of deer occurring in South and Southeast Asia. As presently defined by most authorities, four species are placed in the genus. Three of the four species are called hog deer. The genus name is a word mentioned in Pliny the Elder's Natural History.

Species

Following the third edition of Mammal Species of the World from 2005, which is also followed by the American Society of Mammalogists, four species are placed in Axis. These four species are divided into two subgenera; Axis containing the chital, and Hyelaphus containing the 3 others.

Genus Axis – Smith, 1827 – four species
Common nameScientific name and subspeciesRangeSize and ecologyIUCN status and estimated population
Chital, spotted deer, or axis deerAxis axis (Erxleben, 1777)Indian subcontinent, including Sri LankaSize: Habitat: Diet:LC
Calamian deerAxis calamianensis (Heude, 1888)Calamian Islands in Palawan, the PhilippinesSize: Habitat: Diet:EN
Bawean deer or Kuhl's deerAxis kuhlii (Temminck, 1836)Bawean Island in IndonesiaSize: Habitat: Diet:CR
Indian hog deerAxis porcinus (Zimmermann, 1780)northern plains of Indian subcontinent to Myanmar, parts of IndochinaSize: Habitat: Diet:EN