Large Indian civet

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Large Indian civet
Large Indian Civet, Viverra zibetha in Kaeng Krachan national park.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Viverridae
Genus: Viverra
Species:
V. zibetha
Binomial name
Viverra zibetha
Large Indian Civet area.png
Large Indian civet range

The large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha) 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. [1]

Contents

Characteristics

Skull ViverraZibethaFBI.jpg
Skull

The large Indian civet is grey or tawny and has a black spinal stripe running from behind the shoulders to the root of the tail. The front of the muzzle has a whitish patch emphasized by blackish behind on each side. The chin and fore throat are blackish. The sides and lower surface of the neck are banded with black stripes and white spaces in between. The tail has a variable number of complete black and white rings. Its claws are retractable. The soles of the feet are hairy. [2]

As indicated by its common name, this is a relatively large civet, almost certainly the largest of the Viverra species and exceeded in size among the Viverridae family only by African civets and binturongs. Its head-and-body length ranges from 50–95 cm (20–37 in) with a 38–59 cm (15–23 in) long tail. The hind foot measures 9–14.5 cm (3.5–5.7 in). Its weight ranges from 3.4–9.2 kg (7.5–20.3 lb). Some sources claim the species can weigh up to 11 kg (24 lb) (though possibly attained in captivity). [3] [4] [5]

Distribution and habitat

The large Indian civet ranges from Nepal, northeast India, Bhutan, Bangladesh to Myanmar, Thailand, the Malay peninsula and Singapore to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China. [1]

In Nepal, the large Indian civet was recorded up to 2,250 m (7,380 ft) in the Himalayas. [6]

In China, the wild large Indian civet population declined drastically by 94–99% since the 1950s following deforestation, due to hunting for the fur trade, use of its musk glands as medicine and for the perfume industry. [3] By the 1990s, it was largely confined to the north of Guangdong Province in southern China, but has not been recorded in Hainan Island during surveys between 1998 and 2008. [7]

Ecology and behaviour

Large Indian civet in Namdapha Tiger Reserve, India Large Indian Civet Namdapha2.jpg
Large Indian civet in Namdapha Tiger Reserve, India

The large Indian civet is solitary and nocturnal. It spends most of the time on the ground. It is an opportunistic hunter that preys on a wide variety of small animals. [1]

Radio-tracked large Indian civets in Thailand had home ranges of 2.7 to 8.8 km2 (1.0 to 3.4 sq mi). [8]

Conservation

Viverra zibetha is a protected species in Hong Kong under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170, though it has not been recorded in a natural state in Hong Kong since the 1970s, and is considered extirpated. [9]

Taxonomy

Large Indian civet, a drawing by Brian Houghton Hodgson ViverraZibethaHodgsonFBI.jpg
Large Indian civet, a drawing by Brian Houghton Hodgson

Viverra zibetha was the scientific name for the large Indian civet introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. [10] Several naturalists proposed species and subspecies in the 19th and 20th centuries, of which the following were recognised as valid subspecies by 2005: [11]

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

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<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">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">Malabar large-spotted civet</span> Species of carnivore

The Malabar large-spotted civet, also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals. It has not been recorded during surveys carried out between 1990 and 2014. In the early 1990s, isolated populations still survived in less disturbed areas of South Malabar but were seriously threatened by habitat destruction and hunting outside protected areas.

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<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">Masked palm civet</span> Species of carnivore

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

The large-spotted civet is a viverrid native to Southeast Asia that is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

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

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.

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

The Viverrinae represent the largest subfamily within the Viverridae comprising five genera, which are subdivided into 22 species native to Africa and Southeast Asia. This subfamily was denominated and first described by John Edward Gray in 1864.

<i>Viverra</i> Genus of carnivores

Viverra is a mammalian genus that was first nominated and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 as comprising several species including the large Indian civet. The genus was subordinated to the viverrid family by John Edward Gray in 1821.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Timmins, R.J.; Duckworth, J.W.; Chutipong, W.; Ghimirey, Y.; Willcox, D.H.A.; Rahman, H.; Long, B.; Choudhury, A. (2016). "Viverra zibetha". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T41709A45220429. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41709A45220429.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Pocock, R. I. (1939). "Viverra zibetha Linnaeus. The Large Indian Civet". The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 346−354.
  3. 1 2 3 Wozencraft, W.C. (2008). "Viverridae". In Smith, A. T.; Xie, Y.; Hoffmann, R. S.; Lunde, D.; MacKinnon, J.; Wilson, D. E.; Wozencraft, W. C. (eds.). A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 404−414. ISBN   9781400834112.
  4. ↑ Menon, V. (2014). Indian mammals: a Field Guide. Hachette India.
  5. ↑ Hahn, A. (2019). Zoo and Wild Mammal Formulary. John Wiley & Sons.
  6. ↑ Appel, A.; Werhahn, G.; Acharya, R.; Ghimirey, Y.; Adhikary, B. (2013). "Small carnivores in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal" (PDF). Vertebrate Zoology. 63 (1): 111–121.
  7. ↑ Lau, M. W. N.; Fellowes, J. R.; Chan, B. P. L. (2010). "Carnivores (Mammalia: Carnivora) in South China: a status review with notes on the commercial trade". Mammal Review. 40 (4): 247–292. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2010.00163.x.
  8. ↑ Simcharoen, S. (1999). Home range size, habitat utilization and daily activities of Large Indian Civet (Viverra zibetha). Research and progress report year 1999, Wildlife Research Division, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok.
  9. ↑ Shek, C. T. (2006). A Field Guide to the Terrestrial Mammals of Hong Kong. Friends of the Country Parks / Cosmos Books, Hong Kong. 403 pp. ISBN   978-988-211-331-2. Page 281
  10. ↑ Linnæus, C. (1758). "Viverra Zibetha". Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I (in Latin) (10 ed.). Holmiæ (Stockholm): Laurentius Salvius. p. 44.
  11. ↑ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Viverra zibetha". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Ellerman, J. R.; Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1966). "Viverra zibetha Linnaeus, 1758. Large Indian Civet". Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals 1758 to 1946 (Second ed.). London: British Museum of Natural History. p. 281.
  13. ↑ Swinhoe, R. (1864). "Viverra ashtoni, n. sp". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 379−380.
  14. 1 2 Wroughton, R. C. (1915). "The Burmese Civets". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 24: 63−65.
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