Small Indian civet range (green - extant, pink - probably extant)
Thesmall Indian civet (Viverricula indica) is acivet native toSouth andSoutheast Asia. It is listed asLeast Concern on theIUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agricultural and secondary landscapes of many range states.[1]
The small Indian civet has a rather coarse fur that is brownish grey to pale yellowish brown, with usually several longitudinal black or brown bands on the back and longitudinal rows of spots on the sides. Usually there are five or six distinct bands on the back and four or five rows of spots on each side. Some have indistinct lines and spots, with the dorsal bands wanting. Generally there are two dark stripes from behind the ear to the shoulders, and often a third in front, crossing the throat. Its underfur is brown or grey, often grey on the upper parts of the body and brown on the lower. The grey hairs on the upper parts are often tipped with black. The head is grey or brownish grey, the chin often brown. The ears are short and rounded with a dusky mark behind each ear, and one in front of each eye. The feet are brown or black. Its tail has alternating black and whitish rings, seven to nine of each colour. It is 53–58 cm (21–23 in) from head to body with a 38–43 cm (15–17 in) long tapering tail.[2]
In Myanmar, it was recorded in mixed deciduous and bamboo forests inHlawga National Park.[9][10] InHukawng Valley, it was recorded in grasslands and edges of forests at 240–580 m (790–1,900 ft) elevation during surveys between 2001 and 2003. InAlaungdaw Kathapa National Park, it was also recorded in a close tall forest in 1999.[11]
In China'sGuangxi,Guangdong andHainan provinces, it was recorded in subtropical forest patches during interview and camera-trapping surveys carried out between 1997 and 2005.[17]
Small Indian civets arenocturnal, mostly terrestrial andinsectivorous.[6] They inhabit holes in the ground, under rocks or in thick bush.[2]Occasionally, pairs are formed (for mating and hunting). In areas not disturbed by humans, they have been reported to sometimes also hunt by day. Small Indian civets are primarily terrestrial, though they also climb well. Individuals sleep in burrows or hollow logs. They can dig their own burrows, but also occupy abandoned burrows of other species. In suburban habitats they use gutters or other hollow, dark spaces as makeshift burrows.[23]
The female has usually four or five young at a birth.[2] Captive small Indian civets in Kerala were observed tomate in March to May and October to December. Meangestation lasts 65 to 69 days. Kittens weigh between 90 and 110 g (3.2 and 3.9 oz) at birth and open their eyes after five days. They reach 1,000 g (35 oz) at the age of ten weeks.[25]The life span in captivity is eight to nine years.[24]
Viverricula malaccensis baliensis by Sody in 1931 was a male specimen fromBali.[36]
Viverricula malaccensis muriavensis also by Sody in 1931 was also a male specimen collected nearKeling north ofGunung Muria inCentral Java.[36]
Viverricula indica mayori byReginald Innes Pocock in 1933 was a civet skin fromMaha Oya that was part of a collection of civet skins and skulls from Sri Lanka.[37]
Viverricula indica baptistæ also by Pocock in 1933 was a civet skin fromHasimara in the BhutanDooars that differed slightly in colour from other civet skins collected in Bengal andAssam.[37]
Viverricula indica wellsi by Pocock in 1933 was a richly tinted civet skin fromKangra district in northwestern India.[37]
V. indica klossi by Pocock in 1933 was a dark brown skin of an adult female civet fromPenang inMalay Peninsula.[37]
Aphylogenetic study showed that the small Indian civet is closely related to the generaCivettictis andViverra. It was estimated that theCivettictis-Viverraclade diverged fromViverricula around 16.2million years ago. The authors suggested that thesubfamily Viverrinae should be bifurcated into Genettinae includingPoiana andGenetta, and Viverrinae includingCivettictis,Viverra andViverricula. The following cladogram is based on this study.[41]
^abcdeBlanford, W. T. (1888–91)."Genus Viverricula Hodgson".The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 100–101.
^Chutipong, W.; Tantipisanuh, N.; Ngoprasert, D.; Lynam, A. J.; Steinmetz, R.; Jenks, K. E.; Grassman, Jr. L. I.; Tewes, M.; Kitamura, S.; Baker, M. C.; McShea, W.; Bhumpakphan, N.; Sukmasuang, R.; Gale, G. A.; Harich, F. K.; Treydte, A. C.; Cutter, P.; Cutter, P. B.; Suwanrat, S.; Siripattaranukul, K.; Hala-Bala Wildlife Research Station, Wildlife Research Division; Duckworth, J. W. (2014)."Current distribution and conservation status of small carnivores in Thailand: a baseline review"(PDF).Small Carnivore Conservation (51):96–136.[dead link]
^Lau, M. W. N.; Fellowes, J. R.; Chan, B. P. L. (2010). "Carnivores (Mammalia: Carnivora) in South China: a status review with notes on the commercial trade".Mammal Review.40 (42):247–292.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2010.00163.x.
^Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, E. (1803)."La Civette de l'Inde".Catalogue des Mammifères du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris: Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. p. 113.
^Horsfield, T. (1824)."Viverra Rasse".Zoological Researches in Java, and the neighbouring Islands. London: Printed for Kingsbury, Parbury, & Allen. pp. 160–166.
^Horsfield, T. (1851)."Viverricula Rasse".A catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum of the Hon. East-India Company. London: J. & H. Cox. p. 59−60.
^Gray, J. E. (1832)."Bengal CivetViverra bengalensis".Illustrations of Indian zoology; chiefly selected from the collection of Major-General Hardwicke. London: Treuttel, Wurtz, Treuttel, Jun. and Richter. pp. Plate 4.
^abPollen, F. P. L. (1868)."Chapitre IV".Recherches sur la Faune de Madagascar et de ses dépendances [Research on the Fauna of Madagascar and its dependencies]. Leyde: J. K. Steenhoff. pp. 85−125.
^abcdPocock, R. I. (1939)."Genus Viverricula Hodgson".The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. London: Taylor and Francis. pp. 362–376.
^abcdefgEllerman, J. R.; Morrison-Scott, T. C. S. (1966)."Genus Viverricula Hodgson".Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals 1758 to 1946 (Second ed.). London: British Museum of Natural History. pp. 282–283.
