Owston's palm civet

Owston's palm civet
Owston's palm civets in captivity
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Viverridae
Subfamily: Hemigalinae
Genus: Chrotogale
Thomas, 1912
Species:
C. owstoni
Binomial name
Chrotogale owstoni
(Thomas, 1912)
Owston's palm civet range

Owston's palm civet (Chrotogale owstoni) is a civet native to Vietnam, Laos and a very small portion of southern China, in three counties located in the Yunnan province: Hekou, Luchun, and Jinping, and has never been found west of the Mekong River.[1] It is listed as Endangered by IUCN because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 50% over the last three generations, inferred from over-exploitation, habitat destruction and degradation.[1]

Chrotogale is a monospecific genus.[2] Owston's palm civet is named after the wildlife collector Alan Owston.[3]

Characteristics[edit]

The Owston's palm civet is a mid-sized palm civet at 57 cm (23 in), plus a tail of 43 cm (17 in), weighing anywhere from 4-6 lbs.[4] Newborn Owston's civets are born weighing around 88 grams, or 0.019 lbs[5] With its pointed face, it is sometimes thought to resemble a large insectivore, such as a shrew. They have large ears, that are rounded unlike many cat-like carnivores, as well as black eyes.[4] It has a tawny buff-grey body with highly contrasted black markings on its back and tail. They usually only have 4 bands on their back.[6] These bands start as high as their eyes and run down to the first third of their tails.[7] The last two-thirds of the tail is completely black. They look somewhat like the banded palm civet, Hemigalus derbyanus, except for that the hair on the back of their neck are not reversed, and the Owston's has spots on its legs.[citation needed] Both males and females of this species are very skinny, with resemblance to both ferrets and housecats.[4] SInce both males and females have the same markings, the only way to distinguish the sexes is through looking at genitalia and pelage. Female civets possess an orange pelage only on their lower bellies, whereas in males this orange patch goes up through the chest, and can be duller than the females or brighter.[7]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Owston's palm civet lives in the forests and wooded lowland river basins of northern Vietnam, northern Laos and southern China.[citation needed]

Ecology and behaviour[edit]

Very little is known about their life history in the wild, though limited information has been gathered on captive animals. They feed mostly on earthworms and other invertebrates. The mating season is apparently in late January. After a gestation period of 3 months, a litter of 1-3 young are born.[citation needed]

In captivity[edit]

The Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Program, based at Cúc Phương National Park in Vietnam, runs an international conservation and breeding programme for them in cooperation with various zoos including Newquay Zoo.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Timmins, R.J.; Coudrat, C.N.Z.; Duckworth, J.W.; Gray, T.N.E.; Robichaud, W.; Willcox, D.H.A.; Long, B.; Roberton, S. (2016). "Chrotogale owstoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T4806A45196929. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T4806A45196929.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Genus Chrotogale". 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. 552. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ^ Thomas, O. (1912). "Two new Genera and a Species of Viverrine Carnivora". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. Part II: 498–503.
  4. ^ a b c Nelson, Carli. "Chrotogale owstoni (Owston's palm civet)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  5. ^ "Owston's civet - Newquay Zoo". www.newquayzoo.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  6. ^ "Owston's Civet - SVW - Save Vietnam's Wildlife". svw.vn. 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  7. ^ a b Robertson. S, Heard-Rosenthal. S, Muir. S. (2002). Management Guidelines for Owston's palm civet, Chrotogale owstoni (Thomas 1912). Owston's Palm Civet Conservation program. Cuc Phuong National Park. Vietnam.

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