Malabar large-spotted civet

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Malabar large-spotted civet
Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina) DSCN2359 (cut).jpg
Stuffed specimen at Government Museum, Chennai
CITES Appendix III (CITES) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Viverridae
Genus: Viverra
Species:
V. civettina [2]
Binomial name
Viverra civettina [2]
Blyth, 1862
Malabar Large-spotted Civet area.png
Malabar large-spotted civet range

The Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina), 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. [1] 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. [3]

Contents

It is known as Kannan chandu and Male meru in Kerala വെരുക് (veruk) in Malayalam, and in Karnataka as Mangala kutri, Bal kutri and Dodda punugina. [4]

Taxonomy

Viverra civettina was the scientific name proposed by Edward Blyth in 1862 for a civet specimen from southern Malabar. [5] Reginald Innes Pocock considered V. megaspila and V. civettina to be distinct species. [6] Ellerman and Morrison-Scott considered V. civettina a subspecies of V. megaspila. [7] IUCN Red List considers it a distinct species. [1]

There is some controversy as to whether the Malabar civet is even native to the Western Ghats or whether it is a valid species. Background information for the specimens is scant, so there is little to no information on its ecology or habits. In spite of the heavy habitat destruction in the region, the civet still seems unusually threatened for a small, generalist carnivore. The region where the civet was known to occur is the site of a major trading port, formerly including the trade of civets such as the large-spotted civet. Due to this, there is some speculation on whether the Malabar civet is an introduced population of the large-spotted civet that eventually died off. [1] [8]

Characteristics

The Malabar large-spotted civet is dusky gray. It has a dark mark on the cheek, large transverse dark marks on the back and sides, and two obliquely transverse dark lines on the neck. These dark marks are more pronounced than in the large Indian civet. Its throat and neck are white. A mane starts between the shoulders. Its tail is ringed with dark bands. The feet are dark. [9] It differs from the large-spotted civet by the greater nakedness of the soles of the feet. The hairs on the interdigital webs between the digital pads form submarginal patches; the skin of the plantar pad is naked in front and at the sides. There are remnants of the metatarsal pads on the hind foot as two naked spots, the external a little above the level of the hallux, the internal considerably higher. A male individual kept in the Zoological Gardens of Trivandrum in the 1930s measured 30 in (76 cm) in head and body with a 13 in (33 cm) long tail and weighed 14.5 lb (6.6 kg). [6]

Distribution and habitat

In the 19th century, the Malabar civet occurred throughout the Malabar coast from the latitude of Honnavar to Kanyakumari. It inhabited the forests and richly wooded lowland, and was occasionally found on elevated forest tracts. It was considered abundant in Travancore. [9]

Until the 1960s, extensive deforestation has reduced most of the natural forests in the entire stretch of the coastal Western Ghats. [10] By the late 1960s, the Malabar civet was thought to be near extinction. In 1987, one individual was sighted in Kerala. [11]

In 1987, two skins were obtained near Nilambur in northern Kerala, an area that is dominated by cashew and rubber plantations. Two more skins were found in this area in 1990. These plantations probably held most of the surviving population, as these were little disturbed and provided a dense understorey of shrubs and grasses. Large-scale clearance for planting rubber trees threatened this habitat. [3]

Interviews conducted in the early 1990s among local hunters indicated the presence of Malabar civet in protected areas of Karnataka. [4] During camera trapping surveys in lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Kerala from April 2006 to March 2007, no photographic record was obtained in a total of 1,084 camera trap nights. [12]

Ecology and behavior

The Malabar civet is considered nocturnal and so elusive that little is known about its biology and ecology apart from habitat use. [3]

Threats

Until a few decades ago, local merchants in Kerala reared Malabar civets to obtain civetone, an extract from the scent gland, which was used in medicine, and as an aromatic. [4]

It is now seriously threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation. Until the 1990s, it was confined to remnant forests and disturbed thickets in cashew and rubber plantations in northern Kerala, where the hunting pressure was another major threat. [3]

Alleged sighting

During the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown of India, a video clip of an unidentified civet walking the deserted streets of Meppayur was uploaded on Twitter. The civet was identified by its uploader as a Malabar civet and the clip subsequently went viral online. However, numerous experts identified the civet in the video as actually being the small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), a similar-looking but far more common species. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Ghats</span> Mountain range along the western coast of India

The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadris, is a mountain range that stretches 1,600 km (990 mi) along the western coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi), it traverses the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The range forms an almost continuous chain of mountains along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau from the Tapti river to the southern tip of the Indian peninsula at Kanniyakumari. The Western Ghats meets with the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris before continuing south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Western Ghats montane rain forests</span> Ecoregion in South India

The South Western Ghats montane rain forests is an ecoregion in South India, covering the southern portion of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu at elevations from 1,000 to 2,695 m. Annual rainfall in this ecoregion exceeds 2,800 mm (110 in).

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malabar Coast moist forests</span> Ecoregion in India

The Malabar Coast moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of southwestern India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests</span> Ecoregion in India

The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is an ecoregion in the Western Ghats of southern India with tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. This biome covers the Nilgiri Hills between elevation of 250 and 1,000 m in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.

<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">Hose's palm civet</span> Species of carnivore

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.

<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">Nilgiri marten</span> Species of carnivore

The Nilgiri marten is the only marten species native to southern India. It lives in the hills of the Nilgiris and parts of the Western Ghats. With only around a thousand members left it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malabar spiny dormouse</span> Species of rodent

The Malabar spiny dormouse is a species of muroid rodent endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is the only extant species in the genus Platacanthomys and although resembling a dormouse, it is not closely related. About the size of a brown rat, this arboreal species lives in tree holes in dense forest habitats in a small family group. They are distinguishable from other species in the area by their bushy tuft tip to the tail and the spiny fur on the back.

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

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.

<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.

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

The brown palm civet, also called the Jerdon's palm civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India.

<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">Large Indian civet</span> Species of carnivore

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.

<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.

<i>Viverra</i> Genus of carnivores

Viverra is a mammalian genus that was first named 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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Mudappa, D.; Helgen, K.; Nandini, R. (2016). "Viverra civettina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T23036A45202281. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T23036A45202281.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Species Viverra civettina". 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.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ashraf, N. V. K.; Kumar, A. & Johnsingh, A. J. T. (1993). "Two endemic viverrids of the Western Ghats, India". Oryx. 27 (2): 109–114. doi: 10.1017/S0030605300020640 .
  4. 1 2 3 Rai, N. D. and Kumar, A. (1993). A pilot study on the conservation of the Malabar civet, Viverra civettina (Blyth, 1862): project report. Small Carnivore Conservation 9: 3–7.
  5. ↑ Blyth, E. (1862). "Report of Curator, Zoological Department, February 1862". The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 31 (3): 331–345.
  6. 1 2 Pocock, R. I. (1939). "Moschothera civettina (Blyth). The Malabar Civet". The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. Mammalia Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 358–362.
  7. ↑ Ellerman, J. R.; Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1966). Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mammals 1758 to 1946 (Second ed.). London: British Museum of Natural History.
  8. ↑ "The Elusive Malabar Civet". Conservation India. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  9. 1 2 Jerdon, T. C. (1874). Mammals of India: a natural history of the animals known to inhabit continental India. John Wheldon, London.
  10. ↑ Champion, H. G. and Seth, S. K. (1968). A revised survey of the forest types of India. Government of India, Delhi.
  11. ↑ Kurup, C. U. (1987). "The rediscovery of the Malabar civet, Viverra megaspila civettina Blyth in India". Cheetal. 28 (2): 1–4.
  12. ↑ Rao, S.; Ashraf, N. V. K. & Nixon, A. M. A. (2007). "Search for the Malabar Civet Viverra civettina in Karnataka and Kerala, India, 2006–2007" (PDF). Small Carnivore Conservation. 37: 6–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Evon, D. (2020). "Was a Rare Malabar Civet Spotted During COVID-19 Lockdown?". Snopes.com. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
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