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African civet

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Not to be confused with African palm civet.

African civet
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Viverridae
Genus: Civettictis
Pocock, 1915
Species:
C. civetta
Binomial name
Civettictis civetta
(Schreber, 1776)
Subspecies

C. c. civetta (Schreber, 1776)
C. c. congica Cabrera, 1929
C. c. schwarzi Cabrera, 1929
C. c. australis Lundholm, 1955
C. c. volkmanni Lundholm, 1955
C. c. pauli Kock, Künzel and Rayaleh, 2000

Range of the African civet
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Viverra civetta Schreber, 1776
  • V. poortmanni Pucheran, 1855

The African civet (/ˈsɪvɪt/; Civettictis civetta)[2] 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.[1]

The African civet is primarily nocturnal and spends the day sleeping in dense vegetation, but wakes up at sunset. It is a solitary mammal with a unique coloration: the black and white blotches covering its coarse pelage and rings on the tail are an effective cryptic pattern. The black bands surrounding its eyes closely resemble those of the raccoon. Other distinguishing features are its disproportionately large hindquarters and its erectile dorsal crest. It is an omnivorous generalist, preying on small vertebrates, invertebrates, eggs, carrion, and vegetable matter. It is one of the few carnivores capable of eating toxic invertebrates such as termites and millipedes.[3][4] It detects prey primarily by smell and sound rather than by sight. It is the sole member of its genus.[5]

Taxonomy and evolution

Skull of an African civet

Viverra civetta was the scientific name introduced in 1776 by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber when he described African civets based on previous descriptions and accounts.[6] Schreber is therefore considered the binomial authority.[2] In 1915, Reginald Innes Pocock described the structural differences between feet of African and large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha) specimens in the zoological collection of the Natural History Museum, London. Because of marked differences, he proposed Civettictis as a new genus, with C. civetta as only species.[7] The following subspecies were proposed in the 20th century:

A 1969 study noted that this civet showed enough differences from the rest of the viverrines in terms of dentition to be classified under its own genus.[11]

Evolution

A 2006 phylogenetic study showed that the African civet is closely related to the genus Viverra. It was estimated that the Civettictis-Viverra clade diverged from Viverricula around 16.2 Mya; the African civet split from Viverra 12.3 Mya. The authors suggested that the subfamily Viverrinae should be bifurcated into Genettinae (Poiana and Genetta) and Viverrinae (Civettictis, Viverra and Viverricula). The following cladogram is based on this study.[12]

Small Indian civet (Viverricula indica)

African civet (Civettictis civetta)

Viverra

Large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha)

Large-spotted civet (V. megaspila)

Malayan civet (V. tangalunga)

Etymology

The generic name Civettictis is a fusion of the French word civette and the Greek word ictis, meaning "weasel". The specific name civetta and the common name "civet" come from the French civette or the Arabic zabād or sinnawr al-zabād ("civet cat").[13]

Local and indigenous names

Characteristics

Drawing of an African civet
Skeleton of an African civet

The African civet has a coarse and wiry fur that varies in colour from white to creamy yellow to reddish on the back. The stripes, spots, and blotches are deep brown to black. Horizontal lines are prominent on the hind limbs, spots are normally present on its midsection and fade into vertical stripes above the forelimbs. Its muzzle is pointed, ears small and rounded. A black band stretches across its small eyes, and two black bands are around its short broad neck. Following the spine of the animal extending from the neck to the base of the tail is the erectile dorsal crest. The hairs of the erectile crest are longer than those of the rest of the pelage.[5]

The sagittal crest of its skull is well-developed providing a large area for attachment of the temporal muscle. The zygomatic arch is robust and provides a large area for attachment of the masseter muscle. This musculature and its strong mandible give it a powerful bite. Its dental formula is 3.1.4.23.1.4.2. Its black paws are compact with hairless soles, five digits per manus in which the first toe is slightly set back from the others. Its long, curved claws are semi-retractile. Its head-and-body length is 67–84 cm (26–33 in), with a 34–47 cm (13–19 in) long tail and a weight range from 7 to 20 kg (15 to 44 lb). Females are smaller than males.[5] It is the largest viverrid in Africa.[15] Its shoulder height averages 40 cm (16 in).[citation needed]

Both male and female have perineal and anal glands, which are bigger in males.[5] The perineal glands are located between the scrotum and the penis in males, and between the anus and the vulva in females.[16]

Distribution and habitat

Head of African civet

In Guinea's National Park of Upper Niger, it was recorded during surveys conducted in 1996 to 1997.[17] In 2014 and 2015, it was recorded in Benin’s Pendjari National Park by camera-traps.[18] In Gabon’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, it was photographed close to forested areas during a survey in 2012.[19] In Batéké Plateau National Park, it was recorded in gallery forest along the Mpassa River during surveys conducted between June 2014 and May 2015.[20]

In the Republic of Congo, it was recorded in the Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic of Odzala-Kokoua National Park during surveys in 2007.[21]

In the transboundary Dinder–Alatash (Sudan and Ethiopia) protected area complex it was recorded during surveys between 2015 and 2018.[22] It is also frequently spotted in Ethiopia's northern Degua Tembien massif.[14]

Behaviour and ecology

African civets deposit their feces in large piles called latrines, or specifically "civetries".[16][23] The latrines are characterized by fruits, seeds, exoskeletons of insect and millipede rings, and occasionally clumps of grass.[24] The role of civet latrines as a mechanism of seed dispersal and forest regeneration is still being researched.[25][26]

If an African civet feels threatened, it raises its dorsal crest to make itself look larger and thus more formidable and dangerous to attack. This behavior is a predatory defense.[27]

Feeding

Research in southeastern Nigeria revealed that the African civet has an omnivorous diet. It feeds on rodents like giant pouched rats (Cricetomys), Temminck's mouse (Mus musculoides), Tullberg's soft-furred mouse (Praomys tulbergi), greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus), typical striped grass mouse (Lemniscomys striatus), amphibians and small reptiles like Hallowell's toad (Amietophrynus maculatus), herald snake (Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia), black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis), common agama (Agama agama), Mabuya skinks, insects such as Orthoptera, Coleoptera as well as eggs, fruits, berries and seeds.[28] Stomach content of three African civets in Botswana included foremost husks of fan palm (Hyphaene petersiana) and jackalberry (Diospyros mespiliformis), and some remains of African red toad (Schismaderma carens), Acrididae grasshoppers and larvae of Dytiscidae beetles.[29]

Green grass is also frequently found in feces, and this seems to be linked to the eating of snakes and amphibians.[30]

Reproduction

Captive females are polyestrous.[31] Mating lasts 40 to 70 seconds.[16] In Southern Africa, African civets probably mate from October to November, and females give birth in the rainy season between January and February.[29]

The average lifespan of a captive African civets is 15 to 20 years. Females create a nest which is normally in dense vegetation and commonly in a hole dug by another animal. Female African civets normally give birth to one to four young. The young are born in advanced stages compared to most carnivores.[clarification needed] They are covered in a dark, short fur and can crawl at birth. The young leave the nest after 18 days but are still dependent on the mother for milk and protection for another two months.[32]

Threats

In 2006, it was estimated that about 9,400 African civets are hunted yearly in the Nigerian part and more than 5,800 in the Cameroon part of the Cross-Sanaga-Bioko coastal forests.[33] Skins and skulls of African civets were found in 2007 at the Dantokpa Market in southern Benin, where it was among the most expensive small carnivores. Local hunters considered it a rare species, indicating that the population declined due to hunting for trade as bushmeat.[34]

The African civet has historically been hunted for the secretion of perineal glands. This secretion is a white or yellow waxy substance called civetone, which has been used as a basic ingredient for many perfumes for hundreds of years.[5] In Ethiopia, African civets are hunted alive, and are kept in small cages. Most die within three weeks after capture, most likely due to stress. Extraction of the civetone is cruel and has been criticised by animal rights activists.[35]

References

  1. ^ a b Do Linh San, E.; Gaubert, P.; Wondmagegne, D.; Ray, J. (2015). "Civettictis civetta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T41695A45218199. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |last-author-amp= ignored (|name-list-style= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Civettictis civetta". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 554. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ^ Richardson, P. R. K.; Levitan, C. D. (1994). "Tolerance of Aardwolves to Defense Secretions of Trinervitermes trinervoides". Journal of Mammalogy. 75 (1): 84–91. doi:10.2307/1382238. JSTOR 1382238.
  4. ^ Kingdon, J. (2015). "African Civet Civettictis civetta". The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals (Second ed.). London, New Delhi, New York, Sydney: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 409–410. ISBN 978-1-4729-2531-2. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e Ray, J. C. (1995). "Civettictis civetta" (PDF). Mammalian Species (488): 1–7. doi:10.2307/3504320. JSTOR 3504320. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
  6. ^ Schreber, J. C. D. (1778). "Die Civette Viverra civetta". Die Säugethiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur, mit Beschreibungen. Erlangen: Wolfgang Walther. pp. 418–420. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Pocock, R. I. (1915). "On the Feet and Glands and other External Characters of the Viverrinae, with the description of a New Genus". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 131−149.
  8. ^ a b Cabrera, A. (1929). "Catálogo descriptivo de las mamíferos de la Guinea Española". Memorias de la Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural. 16: 31−32.
  9. ^ a b Lundholm, B. G. (1955). "Descriptions of new mammals" (PDF). Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 22 (3): 279−303.
  10. ^ Kock, D.; Künzel, T.; Rayaleh, H. A. (2000). "The African civet, Civettictis civetta (Schreber 1776), of Djibouti representing a new subspecies (Mammalia, Carnivora, Viverridae)". Senckenbergiana Biologica. 80 (1/2): 241−246.
  11. ^ Petter, G. (1969). "Interpretive Evolution des charactères de la dentures des Viverrides africaines" [interpretive evolution of characters of the teeth in African Viverridae]. Mammalia (in French). 33 (4): 607–625. doi:10.1515/mamm.1969.33.4.607.
  12. ^ 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" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 41 (2): 266–78. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.034. PMID 16837215. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2016-04-19. Open access icon
  13. ^ Gibb, H. A. R.; Lewis, B.; Ménage, V. L.; Pellat, C.; Schacht, J., eds. (2009). Encyclopaedia of Islam (H-Iram) (2nd ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 809a. ISBN 978-90-04-08118-5.
  14. ^ a b Aerts, R. (2019). "Forest and woodland vegetation in the highlands of Dogu'a Tembien". In Nyssen J.; Jacob, M.; Frankl, A. (eds.). Geo-trekking in Ethiopia's Tropical Mountains: The Dogu'a Tembien District. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 9783030049546.
  15. ^ Estes, R.D. (2004). The Behavior Guide to African Mammals: Including Hoofed Mammals, Carnivores, Primates (4th ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 289–292. ISBN 978-0-520-08085-0.
  16. ^ a b c Ewer, R. F.; Wemmer, C. (1974). "The behaviour in captivity of the African civet, Civettictis civetta (Schreber)". Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. 34 (4): 359–394. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1974.tb01809.x.
  17. ^ Ziegler, S.; Nikolaus, G.; Hutterer, R. (2002). "High mammalian diversity in the newly established National Park of Upper Niger, Republic of Guinea". Oryx. 36 (1): 73–80. doi:10.1017/S003060530200011X.
  18. ^ Sogbohossou, E.; Aglissi, J. (2017). "Diversity of small carnivores in Pendjari biosphere reserve, Benin". Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies. 5 (6): 1429–1433. doi:10.22271/j.ento.
  19. ^ Nakashima, Y. (2015). "Inventorying medium-and large-sized mammals in the African lowland rainforest using camera trapping". Tropics. 23 (4): 151–164. doi:10.3759/tropics.23.151.
  20. ^ Hedwig, D.; Kienast, I.; Bonnet, M.; Curran, B. K.; Courage, A.; Boesch, C.; Kühl, H. S.; King, T. (2018). "A camera trap assessment of the forest mammal community within the transitional savannah‐forest mosaic of the Batéké Plateau National Park, Gabon". African Journal of Ecology. 56 (4): 777–790. doi:10.1111/aje.12497.
  21. ^ Henschel, P.; Malanda, G.A.; Hunter, L. (2014). "The status of savanna carnivores in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, northern Republic of Congo". Journal of Mammalogy. 95 (4): 882–892. doi:10.1644/13-MAMM-A-306.
  22. ^ Bauer, H.; Mohammed, A.A.; El Faki, A.; et al. (2018). "Antelopes of the Dinder-Alatash transboundary Protected Area, Sudan and Ethiopia" (PDF). Gnusletter. 35 (1): 26–30.
  23. ^ Bearder, S. K.; Randall, R. M. (1978). "Use of fecal marking sites by Spotted Hyenas and Civets". Carnivore: 32–48.
  24. ^ Mullu, D.; Balakrishnan, M. (2014). "Ecology of African Civet (Civettictis civetta) in Arba Minch Forest, Arba Minch, Ethiopia". Science, Technology and Arts Research Journal. 3 (3): 99–102. doi:10.4314/star.v3i3.16.
  25. ^ Abiyu, A.; Teketay, D.; Glatzel, G.; Gratzer, G. (2015). "Tree seed dispersal by African civets in the Afromontane Highlands: too long a latrine to be effective for tree population dynamics". African Journal of Ecology. 53 (4): 588–591. doi:10.1111/aje.12198.
  26. ^ Engel, T. R. (2000). Seed dispersal and forest regeneration in a tropical lowland biocoenosis (Shimba Hills, Kenya. Logos Verlag.
  27. ^ Enos, Zach H. "African Civet." PJC Instructional Technology. 2001. Web. 12 Mar. 2010. <http://itech.pjc.edu/sctag/civet/african_civet%20page.htm> Archived July 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  28. ^ Angelici, F. M. (2000). "Food habits and resource partitioning of carnivores (Herpestidae, Viverridae) in the rainforests of southeastern Nigeria: preliminary results" (PDF). Revue d'Écologie (La Terre et la Vie). 55: 67–76.
  29. ^ a b Smithers, R. H. N. (1971). "Viverra civetta". The Mammals of Botswana. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. pp. 162−163.
  30. ^ Skinner, J. D.; Smithers, R. H. N. (1990). The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. University of Pretoria. pp. 470–471. ISBN 978-0869798027.
  31. ^ Mallinson, J. J. (1969). "Notes on breeding the African civet Viverra civetta at Jersey Zoo". International Zoo Yearbook. 9 (1): 92−93. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1090.1969.tb02635.x.
  32. ^ Shalu, Tuteja. "Civettictis Civetta African Civet." Animal Diversity Web, 2000. Web. 2010. <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Civettictis_civetta.html>.
  33. ^ Fa, J. E.; Seymour, S.; Dupain, J. E. F.; Amin, R.; Albrechtsen, L.; Macdonald, D. (2006). "Getting to grips with the magnitude of exploitation: bushmeat in the Cross–Sanaga rivers region, Nigeria and Cameroon". Biological Conservation. 129 (4): 497–510. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.11.031.
  34. ^ Djagoun, C. A. M. S.; Gaubert, P. (2009). "Small carnivorans from southern Benin: a preliminary assessment of diversity and hunting pressure". Small Carnivore Conservation (40): 1–10.
  35. ^ Daniel, W. O.; Bekele, A. F.; Balakrishnan, M.; Belay, G. U. (2011). "Collection of African Civet Civettictis civetta perineal gland secretion from naturally scent-marked sites". Small Carnivore Conservation. 44: 14–18.
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