Temporal range: Eocene to Recent
|Viverrids, including (top left to bottom right), species of Paradoxurus, Genetta, Paguma and Arctictis|
"Civet cat"[change | change source]
Many viverrids are civet cats, such as the genera Vivera, Civettictis and Viverricula. The term refers to their noticeable and (to us) unpleasant scent. It is sometimes used for other cats which happen to be rather smelly.
Vivverrids of the genus Genetta are known as 'genets', and there is another genus, Poiana, which are called 'linsangs'. The genet Genetta genetta is the only viverid to live in Europe. It is the striped-tail one at top right in the illustration above.
Characteristics[change | change source]
Viverrids are the most basal ('primitive') of all the families of cat-like animals and less specialized than the Felidae. Their skeletons are similar to those of fossils dating back to the Eocene, up to 50 million years ago.
In external characters, they are distinguished from the Felidae by the hind foot being five-toed and typically by the longer muzzle and shorter limbs. The skull differs as does the dental formula. They have anal glands which may secrete a strong odour. Many species have striped tails.
References[change | change source]
- Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 548–559. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- Gray J.E. 1821. On the natural arrangement of vertebrose animals. London Medical Repository, 15(1): 296–310.
- Pocock R.I. 1939. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. Taylor and Francis, London, 330–332.