Banded palm civet | |
---|---|
A banded palm civet in the Cincinnati Zoo | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | Viverridae |
Genus: | Hemigalus Jourdan, 1837 |
Species: | H. derbyanus [2] |
Binomial name | |
Hemigalus derbyanus [2] (Gray, 1837) | |
Subspecies [3] | |
| |
Banded palm civet range | |
Synonyms | |
Paradoxurus derbyanus [2] |
The banded palm civet (Hemigalus derbyanus [a] ), also called the banded civet, is a viverrid native to Indomalaya. They primarily inhabit lowland conifer habitat, which is under threat from encroaching human activity. It is estimated the population of the banded palm civet has decreased by around 30% in just three generations. Banded palm civets are usually approximately the size of a domestic cat; their fur is pale but with dark bands on the back. They are believed to be closely related to Hose's palm civets, which are similar in appearance and distribution.
The banded palm civet is the only species in its genus, first scientifically described in 1837. The species comprises four subspecies, distributed across Indonesia and Southeast Asia. Two of the subspecies diverged from each other as long ago as 2.7 million years.
Banded palm civets are affected by a variety of parasites, such as nematodes, and are primarily carnivorous, eating small animals such as rodents and bugs. They have sensitive hairs on their paws which help them to detect potential prey.
The genus Hemigalus was named and first described in 1837 by Claude Jourdan who had a skin and skeleton of one zoological specimen at his disposal. [5] In the same year, John Edward Gray described a specimen from the Malay Peninsula under the names Paradoxurus derbyanus and Paradoxurus derbianus. [6] [7] In 1939, Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated banded palm civet specimens described between 1837 and 1915 under the genus Hemigalus and recognised that it is a monotypic taxon. [8] The genus name is derived from the Greek hemi (half) and galus (weasel), due to its appearance. [4] [ better source needed ]
The species is believed to be closely related to Hose's palm civet – another species of civet in the subfamily Hemigalinae, also distributed in Southeast Asia, and with a similar build and appearance. [9]
There are four subspecies: H. derbyanus derbyanus, H. d. boiei, H. d. minor, and H. d. sipora. H. d. derbyanus is known from Myanmar and mainland Malaysia as well as Sumatra; H. d. boiei is known only from Borneo; H. d. minor, from South Pagai and the Mentawai islands; and H. d. sipora, from Sipora and the Mentawai islands. There is also a population on Siberut island, but it has not been attributed to any subspecies. [3]
It is estimated that H. d. minor and H. d. derbyanus diverged from each other some 2.7 million years ago. [10]
The banded palm civet's fur is usually pale in colour, and they have between seven and eight dark bands on their face and on their back. [11] [12] The pale colour is typically pale brown, grey, whitish or buff, but can also be yellowish; the bands are usually dark brown, black, or chestnut in colour. [8] [13] It is roughly the size of domestic cat, growing up to 53 cm (21 in) in length – minus the tail – and weighing from 1–3 kg (2.2–6.6 lb). [4] The tail is usually three-quarters the length of the body and head combined, [8] and appear to swell in size in response to a threat. It has sensitive hairs in between the pads of its paws for sensing prey. [12]
The banded palm civet is native to Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, the Mentawai Islands and Borneo from sea level up to an elevation of 1,660 m (5,450 ft). [1]
In Myanmar, only two individuals were recorded between the early 20th century and the 1960s, both in the far south. [14] In 2022, it was photographed by a camera trap for the first time in a reserved forest in Tanintharyi Region. [15] In Thailand, it was photographed during camera trap surveys in the years 1996–2013 in Khlong Saeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Khao Sok National Park, Kui Buri National Park and Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary, all in evergreen forests at elevations of 162–695 m (531–2,280 ft). [16] In Peninsular Malaysia, it was recorded in just two locations during surveys in 2011–2012 in a hilly dipterocarp forest in Terengganu. [17]
In Sumatra, it was recorded at an elevation of 150 m (490 ft) in primary forest in Kerinci Seblat National Park and on the west coast also at 800 m (2,600 ft). [18] In Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, it was photographed in primary evergreen forest at the elevation of 800–1,089 m (2,625–3,573 ft) in 2011. [19] In South Solok Regency, it was recorded in forest fragments within an oil palm plantation adjacent to Kerinci Seblat National Park in 2015. [20]
It was extirpated in Singapore in the early 20th century. [12]
The banded palm civet is nocturnal and spends the day in low tree holes. [4] It is thought to be a solitary animal. [9] Its activity pattern overlaps with two other species of civet, rodents, as well as the clouded leopard – a potential predator. [12]
In response to a predator or other threat, banded palm civets swell their tails. [12]
The banded palm civet is a strict carnivore and preys on a variety of small animals, including crustaceans, ants, spiders, worms, rats, frogs, small reptiles and birds. [12] It occasionally feeds on vegetation and fruits. [12] Twelve scat samples contained worms, orthopterans and invertebrates. [21]
Banded palm civets hunt around water or along the forest floor. [4] To attack large prey, the civets bite the back of the victim's neck and then shake vigorously, then hold their victim with their front paws, allowing them to attack with their teeth. [22]
Females have one or two litters a year with one or two young. The gestation period varies from 32 to 64 days. [22] Data from the wild suggests they usually live up to twelve years of age, although one civet taken into captivity is recorded having lived for eighteen years. [21] The newborns weigh as little as 125 g (4.4 oz) and usually first open their eyes eight to twelve days after being born. They typically nurse for up to 70 days. [22]
The generation length of the banded palm civet is five years. [1]
Analysis of the gut content of two banded palm civet roadkills in northern Borneo revealed a variety of parasites, including nematodes, eggs of trematodes, mites and pinworms. [23]
The major threat to the banded palm civet is loss and destruction of natural habitat loss by logging and subsequent conversion to agriculture, plantations and construction of dams. It is hunted and eaten by local people in Sabah. [1] Its preferred habitat, lowland forest, is particularly prone to such threats. [9] In 2016, the population was thought to have declined by 30% over just three generations. [24] In 2022, it was estimated that the population has declined to just 21% of the IUCN Red List distribution. [12]
Some humans take them from their natural habitat to keep them as pets. [25]
The banded palm civet is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, and the global population is thought to be decreasing. It is protected under CITES' Appendix II. [1] About 24% of its estimated range is in protected areas. [9] but a later (2022) study estimated that value to be only 12%. [12]
Viverridae is a family of small to medium-sized, feliform mammals. The viverrids comprise 33 species placed in 14 genera. This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821. Viverrids occur all over Africa, southern Europe, and South and Southeast Asia, across the Wallace Line.
The Asian palm civet, also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad range of habitats. It is widely distributed with large populations that in 2008 were thought unlikely to be declining. It is threatened by poaching for the illegal wildlife trade.
The African palm civet, also known as the two-spotted palm civet, is a small feliform mammal widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
The African civet is a large viverrid native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is considered common and widely distributed in woodlands and secondary forests. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008. In some countries, it is threatened by hunting, and wild-caught individuals are kept for producing civetone for the perfume industry.
The otter civet is a semiaquatic viverrid native to Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. It is believed to be undergoing severe population decline due to habitat destruction and is classified as an endangered species by the IUCN Red List.
The Mentawai Islands rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Indonesia. It covers the Mentawai Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra. The islands have been separated from Sumatra since the mid-Pleistocene period, and their geographic isolation allowed the evolution of several endemic species, including 17 endemic mammals.
The Sunda stink badger, also called the Javan stink badger, teledu, Malay stink badger, Malay badger, Indonesian stink badger and Sunda skunk, is a mammal native to Indonesia and Malaysia. Despite the common name, stink badgers are not closely related to true badgers, and are, instead, Old World relatives of the skunks. Coincidentally, its local name sigung in Sundanese is a false cognate to skunk which is of Algonquian origin.
Paradoxurus is a genus of three palm civets within the viverrid family that was denominated and first described by Frédéric Cuvier in 1822. The Paradoxurus species have a broad head, a narrow muzzle with a large rhinarium that is deeply sulcate in the middle. Their large ears are rounded at the tip. The tail is nearly as long as the head and body.
Hose's palm civet, also known as Hose's civet, is a viverrid species endemic to the island of Borneo. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 30% over the last three generations and suspected to be more than 30% in the next three generations due to declines in population inferred from habitat destruction and degradation.
The small Indian civet is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agricultural and secondary landscapes of many range states.
The masked palm civet, also called the gem-faced civet or Himalayan palm civet, is a viverrid species native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 as it occurs in many protected areas, is tolerant to some degree of habitat modification, and widely distributed with presumed large populations that are unlikely to be declining.
The golden palm civet is a viverrid endemic to Sri Lanka. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2016.The extent and quality of its habitat in Sri Lanka's hill regions are declining.
The brown palm civet, also called the Jerdon's palm civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
The Malayan civet, also known as the Malay civet and Oriental civet, is a viverrid native to the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Bangka, Borneo, the Riau Archipelago, and the Philippines. It is listed as "Least Concern" by IUCN as it is a relatively widely distributed, appears to be tolerant of degraded habitats, and occurs in a number of protected areas.
The large Indian civet is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The global population is thought to be decreasing due to hunting and trapping driven by the demand for bushmeat.
A civet is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's diversity is found in southeast Asia. Civets do not form a monophyletic group, as they consist only of certain members of the Viverridae, Eupleridae, and Nandiniidae.
Paradoxurinae is a subfamily of the feliform viverrids that was denominated and first described by John Edward Gray in 1864. Pocock subordinated the genera Paradoxurus, Paguma and Arctictis to this subfamily.
The Hemigalinae are a subfamily of the viverrids denominated and first described by John Edward Gray in 1864. Hemigalinae species are native to Southeast Asia from southern China through Indochina, Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi.