African civet

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Not to be confused with African palm civet.

African civet

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Viverridae
Genus: Civettictis
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 (Civettictis civetta) is a large

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

genus Civettictis.[5]

Taxonomy and evolution

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,
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

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)

Genetta

Poiana

Etymology

The

Arabic zabād or sinnawr al-zabād ("civet cat").[13]

Local and indigenous names

Characteristics

Skull
Skeleton

The African civet has a coarse and wiry

dorsal crest. The hairs of the erectile crest are longer than those of the rest of the pelage.[5]

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. The average weight is 11 to 15 kg (24 to 33 lb) within a range of 7 to 20 kg (15 to 44 lb).[5]
It is the largest viverrid in Africa.[16] Only the binturong is likely heavier among the world's viverrids.[17] Its shoulder height averages 40 cm (16 in).[18] 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.[19]

Distribution and habitat

Head of African civet

African civets typically sleep during the day in the tall grasses near water sources in central and southern Africa. It often inhabits savannahs, forests, and sometimes near rivers as the tall grasses and thickets present provide them with necessary cover during the day.[5] In Guinea's National Park of Upper Niger, it was recorded during surveys conducted in 1996 to 1997.[20] In Gabon’s Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, it was photographed close to forested areas during a survey in 2012.[21] In Batéké Plateau National Park, it was recorded in gallery forest along the Mpassa River during surveys conducted between June 2014 and May 2015.[22]

In the

Republic of Congo, it was recorded in the Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic of Odzala-Kokoua National Park during surveys in 2007.[23]

In the transboundary

Degua Tembien massif.[14]

Behaviour and ecology

African civets deposit their

latrines, or specifically "civetries".[19][25] The latrines are characterized by fruits, seeds, exoskeletons of insect and millipede rings, and occasionally clumps of grass.[26] The role of civet latrines as a mechanism of seed dispersal and forest regeneration is still being researched.[27][28]

African civets are typically solitary creatures. They use their perineal gland secretion to mark their territories around their civetries. These markings typically follow common routes and paths and lie within 100 meters of civetries 96.72% of the time.[29]

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.[30]

Feeding

Research in southeastern Nigeria revealed that the African civet has an

Coleoptera, and Blattodea, as well as carrion, eggs, fruits (such as Strychnos), berries and seeds.[31][32]
African civets can take prey as large as hares but can be somewhat clumsy killers with sizable prey.[5] 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.[33]

Green grass is also frequently found in feces, and this seems to be linked to the eating of snakes and amphibians.[34]

Reproduction

Captive females are

polyestrous.[35] Mating lasts 40 to 70 seconds.[19]
In Southern Africa, African civets probably mate from October to November, and females give birth in the rainy season between January and February.[33]

The average lifespan of a captive African civet 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.[36]

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.[37]
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.[38]

The African civet has historically been hunted for the secretion of perineal

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.[39] The writer Daniel Defoe once invested in a scheme to raise civets in captivity for their secretions.[40]

The population of African civet in

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).[41]

References

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  9. ^ a b Lundholm, B. G. (1955). "Descriptions of new mammals" (PDF). Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 22 (3): 279−303.[permanent dead link]
  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.
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  30. ^ 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
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  41. ^ "Appendices I, II and III". Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. 21 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.

External links

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