Sunda stink badger | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Mephitidae |
Genus: | Mydaus |
Species: | M. javanensis |
Binomial name | |
Mydaus javanensis | |
Sunda stink badger range | |
Synonyms | |
Mydaus meliceps [3] |
The Sunda stink badger (Mydaus javanensis), 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. [4] Coincidentally, its local name sigung in Sundanese [5] is a false cognate to skunk which is of Algonquian origin.
Sunda stink badgers have a similar body shape to badgers, but are significantly smaller, being 37 to 52 cm (15 to 20 in) in total length, and weighing from 1.3 to 3.6 kg (2.9 to 7.9 lb). Their fur is coarse, and black or very dark brown over most of the body, with a white stripe running from the top of the head to the tail. The tail is short, measuring about 3.6 cm (1.4 in), and is covered in pure white fur. The width of the stripe varies considerably between individuals, but is usually narrow, and may be discontinuous. As the name indicates, stink badgers have an anal scent gland that secretes a foul-smelling substance, which the animal can spray up to 15 cm (5.9 in). Females have six teats. [6]
Named for the Sunda Islands, Sunda stink badgers are found in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the northern Natuna Islands. Sunda stink badgers can be found across a wide variety of habitats, including forest edges or areas of secondary forest. Historically, they were thought to be restricted to high elevations of over 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and only rarely on lowland plains. This is now known not to be true, and more recent surveys have shown Sunda stink-badgers are often found in elevations well below 2000m. [7] Sunda stink badgers have been reported as low as 250 m (820 ft) above sea level on Java, at relatively low elevations in Sarawak., [6] and have even been recorded at elevations as low as 10m in the Lower Kinabatangan floodplains, Sabah, Borneo at seemingly high densities. [8]
Three subspecies are recognized: [6]
The Sunda stink badger is omnivorous and highly nocturnal. [9] The animal portion of its diet consists of invertebrates, eggs, and carrion. At night, it roots through soft soil using its snout and claws searching for worms and ground-dwelling insects. During the day, it sleeps in short burrows, less than 60 cm (24 in) in length, which it either digs or takes over from other animals, such as porcupines. Females have been reported to give birth to litters of two or three young. [6]
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.
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The marbled cat is a small wild cat native from the eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to an elevation of 2,500 m (8,200 ft). As it is present in a large range, it has been listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List since 2015.
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.
Pierre-Médard Diard was a French naturalist and explorer.
The Bornean ferret badger, also known as Everett's ferret badger or the Kinabalu ferret badger, is a small, nocturnal and omnivorous mammal that is endemic to the island of Borneo. It is a member of the family Mustelidae and is one of six species of the genus Melogale. It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to its small distribution range, which includes Kinabalu National Park and Crocker Range National Park.
The Palawan stink badger, pantot or tuldo in the Batak language, is a carnivoran of the western Philippines named for its resemblance to badgers, its powerful smell, and the largest island to which it is native, Palawan. Like all stink badgers, the Palawan stink badger was once thought to share a more recent common ancestor with badgers than with skunks. Recent genetic evidence, however, has led to their re-classification as one of the Mephitidae, the skunk family of mammals. It is the size of a large skunk or small badger, and uses its badger-like body to dig by night for invertebrates in open areas near patches of brush. While it lacks the whitish dorsal patches typical of its closest relatives, predators and hunters generally avoid the powerful noxious chemicals it can spray from the specialized anal glands characteristic of mephitids.
The banded palm civet, 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 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 Sunda clouded leopard is a medium-sized wild cat native to Borneo and Sumatra. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2015, as the total effective population probably consists of fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, with a decreasing population trend. On both Sunda Islands, it is threatened by deforestation. It was classified as a separate species, distinct from its close relative, the clouded leopard in mainland Southeast Asia based on a study in 2006. Its fur is darker with a smaller cloud pattern.
The Bornean clouded leopard is a subspecies of the Sunda clouded leopard. It is native to the island of Borneo, and differs from the Batu-Sumatran clouded leopard in the shape and frequency of spots, as well as in cranio-mandibular and dental characters. In 2017, the Cat Classification Taskforce of the Cat Specialist Group recognized the validity of this subspecies.
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Stink badgers or false badgers are the species of the genus Mydaus of the skunk family of carnivorans, the Mephitidae. They resemble the better-known members of the family Mustelidae also termed 'badgers'. There are only two extant species – the Palawan stink badger or pantot, and the Sunda stink badger or teledu. They live west of the Wallace Line; the Sunda species on islands of the Greater Sunda Islands, being Sumatra, Java, and Borneo; in Borneo the badger is found in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Palawan species lives in the Philippine island of Palawan as well as the islands surrounding it.
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The Visayan leopard cat, known locally as maral, is a Sunda leopard cat population in the Philippine Islands of Negros, Cebu and Panay. It has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in 2008 under its former scientific name P. bengalensis rabori as its range is estimated to be less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi), and the population was thought to be decreasing.
The Sunda leopard cat is a small wild cat species native to the Sundaland islands of Java, Bali, Borneo, Sumatra and the Philippines that is considered distinct from the leopard cat occurring in mainland South and Southeast Asia.
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