Civet

Last updated

Contents

Civets
Civettictis civetta 12.jpg
African civet (Civettictis civetta)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Included genera
Excluded genera
(These carnivorans are not traditionally considered civets)

A civet ( /ˈsɪvɪt/ ) 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.

The African civet, Civettictis civetta, [1] has historically been the main species from which a musky scent used in perfumery, also referred to as "civet", was obtained.

Naming

The common name is used for a variety of carnivoran mammal species, mostly of the family Viverridae. It is also used to refer to the African palm civet and the Malagasy civet.

The African palm civet (Nandinia binotata) is genetically distinct and belongs in its own monotypic family, Nandiniidae.

The Malagasy civet (Fossa fossana) belongs to a separate family Eupleridae, with other carnivorans of Madagascar. The Malagasy civet was to be placed in the subfamily Hemigalinae with the banded palm civets and then in its own subfamily, Fossinae, because of similarities with others in the group pointed out by Gregory, but it is now classified as a member of the subfamily Euplerinae, after Pocock pointed out more similarities with that one. [2]

Civets are also called "toddy cats" in English, "Mara Patti" in Malayalam, "musang" in Malay, Filipino, and Indonesian, and urulǣvā (උරුලෑවා) in Sinhalese.[ citation needed ] There can be confusion among speakers of Malay because the indigenous word musang has been mistakenly applied to foxes by printed media instead of rubah, which is the correct but lesser-known term.[ citation needed ]

A minority of writers use civet to refer only to Civettictis , Viverra and Viverricula civets. [3] However, in more common usage in English, the name also covers the civets of the viverrid genera Chrotogale , Cynogale , Diplogale , Hemigalus , Arctogalidia , Macrogalidia , Paguma and Paradoxurus .[ citation needed ]

South Asia

In Sri Lanka, the Asian palm civet species is known as "uguduwa" by the Sinhala-speaking community. The terms uguduwa and kalawedda are used interchangeably by the Sri Lankan community to refer to the same animal. However, the term kalawedda is mostly used to refer to another species in the civet family, the small Indian civet.[ citation needed ]

Sri Lanka also has an endemic civet species called golden palm civet. Recently this species was split into three separate endemic species as Paradoxurus montanus , P. aureus , and P. stenocephalus . In Bangladesh and Bengali-speaking areas of India, civets are known as "khatash" (Bengali : খাটাশ) for the smaller species and "bagdash" (Bengali : বাগডাশ) for the larger ones and is now extremely rare in Bangladesh (in the Khulna area of the country, the animal is also known as "shairel"). In Assamese this animal is known as "zohamola" (Assamese : জহামলা) which literally means "to have zoha aromatic feces". In Maharashtra Marathi-speaking areas of India, civets are known as "Udmanjar" (Marathi : उदमांजर).[ citation needed ]

In Kerala, the Malayalam speaking areas of India, the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) is called "veruk" (വെരുക്‌).[ citation needed ] 'Veruku' (வெருகு) in Tamil meant 'cat', particularly during the Sangam period (~ 100 BCE to 400 CE).

Physical characteristics

Civets have a broadly cat-like general appearance, though the muzzle is extended and often pointed, rather like that of an otter, mongoose or even possibly a ferret. They range in length from about 43 to 71 cm (17 to 28 in) (excluding their long tails) and in weight from about 1.4 to 4.5 kg (3 to 10 lb).

The civet produces a musk (named civet after the animal) which is highly valued as a fragrance and stabilizing agent for perfume. Both male and female civets produce the strong-smelling secretion, which is produced by the civet's perineal glands. It is harvested by either killing the animal and removing the glands, or by scraping the secretions from the glands of a live animal. The latter is the preferred method today.

Animal rights groups, such as World Animal Protection, express concern that harvesting musk is cruel to animals. Between these ethical concerns and the availability of synthetic substitutes, the practice of raising civets for musk is dying out. Chanel, maker of the popular perfume Chanel No. 5, claims that natural civet has been replaced with a synthetic substitute since 1998. [4]

Habitat

A captured civet in India AngryMarapatti.JPG
A captured civet in India

Viverrids are native to sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, the Iberian Peninsula, southern China, South and Southeast Asia. Favoured habitats include woodland, savanna, and mountain biome. In consequence, many are faced with severe loss of habitat; several species are considered vulnerable and the otter civet is classified as endangered. Some species of civet are very rare and elusive and hardly anything is known about them, e.g., the Hose's civet, endemic to the montane forests of northern Borneo, is one of the world's least known carnivores. [5]

Diet

Civets are unusual among feliforms, and carnivora in general, in that they are omnivores or even herbivores. Many species primarily eat fruit. Some also use flower nectar as a major source of energy. As human habitats have increased and expanded, civets have preyed on livestock and smaller domesticated animals, such as fowls, ducks, rabbits, and cats.

Coffee

A caged civet Luwak (civet cat) in cage.jpg
A caged civet

Kopi luwak, called cà phê cứt chồn in Vietnam and Tagalog : kape alamid in the Philippines) is coffee that is prepared using coffee cherries that have been eaten and partly digested by the Asian palm civet and then harvested from its fecal matter. [6] [7]

The civets digest the flesh of the coffee cherries but pass the beans inside, where stomach enzymes affect the beans. This adds to the coffee's prized aroma and flavor. [6] About 0.5 kg (1 lb) can cost up to $600 in some parts of the world and about $100 a cup in others. [8]

This demand has led to civet farms on which the civets are fed a diet composed almost exclusively of such cherries, causing them to become severely malnourished. Farm conditions are also routinely described as deplorable. Filipino and Vietnamese oversight of these farms is nonexistent. [9]

Relationship with humans

The Malayan civet is found in many habitats, including forests, secondary habitats, cultivated land, and the outskirts of villages, and is highly adaptable to human disturbances, including "selective logging" (partial forest removal). [10]

African civets (Civettictis civetta) are listed as Least Concern, but in certain regions of Africa the population is declining due to hunting, direct and indirect poisoning, and an increase in large-scale farm fences that limit population flow. They are also seen as comparatively abundant options in the bushmeat trade. [11]

Masked palm civets sold for meat in local markets of Yunnan, China carried the SARS virus from horseshoe bats to humans, [12] resulting in the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak.

Civets are also raised in captivity by humans for two reasons. In Asia, they are raised to process coffee beans. In Ethiopia, they are raised in captivity to collect their perineal secretions, also called civet, to be used in making perfume. [13] [14]

Urban environments

Palm civets often venture into cities and suburbs, with people often complaining about civet faeces and the noise of the animals' climbing on roofs. Some studies have been undertaken to examine and mitigate such human–animal conflict. [15]

Literature

In As You Like It , Act II, scene 2 (William Shakespeare, 1599), the civet cat is mentioned as the "uncleanly" source of courtiers' perfumes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viverridae</span> Family of carnivorans

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian palm civet</span> Species of viverrid

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. In Indonesia, it is threatened by poaching and illegal wildlife trade; buyers use it for the increasing production of kopi luwak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kopi luwak</span> Indonesian coffee drink

Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee, is a coffee that consists of partially digested coffee cherries, which have been eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. The cherries are fermented as they pass through a civet's intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected. Asian palm civets are increasingly caught in the wild and traded for this purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African civet</span> Species of carnivore

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fossa (animal)</span> Cat-like, carnivorous mammal endemic to Madagascar

The fossa is a slender, long-tailed, cat-like mammal that is endemic to Madagascar. It is a member of the carnivoran family Eupleridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulawesi palm civet</span> Species of carnivore

The Sulawesi palm civet, also known as Sulawesi civet, musang and brown palm civet is a little-known viverrid endemic to Sulawesi. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to population decline estimated to have been more than 30% over the last three generations inferred from habitat destruction and degradation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small Indian civet</span> Species of mammal

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eupleridae</span> Family of carnivores

Eupleridae is a family of carnivorans endemic to Madagascar and comprising 10 known living species in seven genera, commonly known as euplerids, Malagasy mongooses or Malagasy carnivorans. The best known species is the fossa, in the subfamily Euplerinae. All species of Euplerinae were formerly classified as viverrids, while all species in the subfamily Galidiinae were classified as herpestids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galidiinae</span> Subfamily of carnivores

Galidiinae is a subfamily of carnivorans that is restricted to Madagascar and includes six species classified into four genera. Together with the three other species of indigenous Malagasy carnivorans, including the fossa, they are currently classified in the family Eupleridae within the suborder Feliformia. Galidiinae are the smallest of the Malagasy carnivorans, generally weighing about 600 to 900 g. They are agile, short-legged animals with long, bushy ringed tails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden palm civet</span> Species of carnivore

The golden palm civet is a viverrid endemic to Sri Lanka. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and the extent and quality of its habitat in Sri Lanka's hill regions are declining.

<i>Civettictis</i> Genus of mammal

Civettictis is a genus of viverrid that contains the extant African civet (Civettictis civetta) and a recently described extinct relative from the Plio-Pleistocene of South Africa known as Civettictis braini.

Civet cat is an imprecise term that is used for a variety of cat-like creatures including:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feliformia</span> Suborder of carnivores

Feliformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "cat-like" carnivorans, including cats, hyenas, mongooses, viverrids, and related taxa. Feliformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Caniformia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viverrinae</span> Subfamily of carnivores

The Viverrinae represent the largest subfamily of the Viverridae comprising three genera, which are subdivided into six species native to Africa and Southeast Asia. This subfamily was denominated and first described by John Edward Gray in 1864.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradoxurinae</span> Subfamily of carnivores

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euplerinae</span> Subfamily of carnivores

Euplerinae, more commonly known as malagasy civets, is a subfamily of carnivorans that includes four species restricted to Madagascar. Together with the subfamily Galidiinae, which also only occurs on Madagascar, it forms the family Eupleridae. Members of this subfamily, which include the fossa, falanoucs and Malagasy civet, were placed in families like Felidae and Viverridae before genetic data indicated their consanguinity with other Madagascar carnivorans. Within the subfamily, the falanouc and Malagasy civet are more closely related to each other than to the fossa.

Palm civet is the common name of several species of feliform carnivorans in two families.

<i>Viverra leakeyi</i> Extinct species of carnivore

Viverra leakeyi, also known as Leakey's civet or the giant civet, is an extinct species of civet. Its fossils have been found in Africa, from Langebaanweg, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and the Omo Valley.

Civet, also known as civet musk and civet oil, is the glandular secretion produced by both sexes of Viverridae species.

References

  1. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Civet"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 402.
  2. ↑ Anjali Goswami; Anthony Friscia (29 July 2010). Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form and Function. Cambridge University Press. pp. 68–70. ISBN   978-1-139-48853-2.
  3. ↑ Gaubert, P.; Cordeiro-Estrela, P. (2006). "Phylogenetic systematics and tempo of evolution of the Viverrinae (Mammalia, Carnivora, Viverridae) within feliformians: Implications for faunal exchanges between Asia and Africa". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 41 (2): 266–278. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.034. PMID   16837215.
  4. ↑ The Straight Dope: Does civet come from tortured cats? Does kopi luwak coffee come from pre-eaten beans?
  5. ↑ Mathai, J. (2010). "Hose's Civet: Borneo's mysterious carnivore". Nature Watch 18/4: 2-8.
  6. 1 2 Brewed Coffee: Civet Coffee, 30 November 2006, retrieved 25 May 2009
  7. ↑ Onishi, Norimitsu (17 April 2010). "From Dung to Coffee Brew With No Aftertaste". The New York Times .
  8. ↑ From Civet Poop to Great Coffee , retrieved 22 July 2010[ permanent dead link ]
  9. ↑ "The Disturbing Secret Behind the World's Most Expensive Coffee". National Geographic. 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019.
  10. ↑ Jennings, A. P.; Seymour, A. S.; Dunstone, N. (2006). "Ranging behaviour, spatial organization and activity of the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga) on Buton Island, Sulawesi". Journal of Zoology. 268 (1): 63–71. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2005.00023.x.
  11. ↑ Swanepoel, Lourens; Camacho, Gerrie; Power, Richard; Amiard, Pamela; Do Linh San, Emmanuel (2016). "A conservation assessment of Civettictis civetta". ResearchGate. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  12. ↑ Lau, Susanna K.P.; et al. (2005). "Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe bats". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102 (39): 14040–14145. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10214040L. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0506735102 . PMC   1236580 . PMID   16169905.
  13. ↑ Tadesse Habtamu Tessema (2019). Civet husbandry in Ethiopia. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
  14. ↑ Desta, Takele Taye (2019). "Enhanced enrichment is inevitable to carry on the legacy of African civet (Civettictis civetta) captive farming". Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity. 20 (6). doi: 10.13057/biodiv/d200613 . S2CID   195564862.
  15. ↑ "The great 'musang' stakeout". Wild Singapore. 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.