| West African oyan | |
|---|---|
_(18158249382).jpg) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Viverridae |
| Genus: | Poiana |
| Species: | P. leightoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Poiana leightoni Pocock, 1908 | |
 | |
| Distribution of Leighton's linsang | |
| Synonyms | |
Poiana richardsoni leightoni (protonym)[2] | |
TheWest African oyan (Poiana leightoni), also known as theWest African linsang, is alinsangspecies native to theUpper Guinean forests inWest Africa.[1]It is one of the least known small carnivores in Africa.[3]
_Poiana_leightoni.jpg)
The West African oyan's body is slender and long, with an elongated head and a pointed muzzle. Its fur is yellowish to reddish brown with dark oval shaped spots on the neck, and small spots on the back and legs. Its throat, chest and belly are lighter in colour and without spots. Its tail has 10 to 12 dark rings. Its body is 30–38 cm (12–15 in) long, with a 35–40 cm (14–16 in) long tail.[3]
The West African oyan inhabits thecanopy oftropical forests in West Africa. Two known records in theIvory Coast date to the 1960s and 1970s. InLiberia, it was recorded in ten localities between the 1960s and late 1980s. Its presence in Sierra Leone and Guinea is uncertain.[3][1]
The West African oyan is probably affected byhabitat loss due tologging of tropical forests, and by hunting forbushmeat.[1]
The West African oyan wasfirst described—in a paper read at the 26 November 1907 meeting of theZoological Society of London andpublished the following May—byReginald Innes Pocock, based on azoological specimen collected in Liberia.[2][4] Pocock considered it asubspecies of theCentral African oyan, thetrinomial in the original orthography beingPoiana richardsoni leightoni,Poiana richardsoni liberiensis being printed in error.[2][4] In 1974,Donovan Reginald Rosevear elevated "Leighton's linsang" from subspecies to independent species rank.[4]
