Small Indian civet range (green - extant, pink - probably extant)
The small Indian civet (Viverricula indica) is a
civet native to
South and
Southeast Asia. It is listed as
Least Concern on the
IUCN 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 in
Hlawga National Park.[9][10] In
Hukawng 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. In
Alaungdaw Kathapa National Park, it was also recorded in a close tall forest in 1999.[11]
In China's
Guangxi,
Guangdong and
Hainan provinces, it was recorded in subtropical forest patches during interview and camera-trapping surveys carried out between 1997 and 2005.[17]
Small Indian civets are
nocturnal, mostly terrestrial and
insectivorous.[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 to
mate in March to May and October to December. Mean
gestation 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]
Conservation
Viverricula indica is listed on
CITES Appendix III.[1] In Myanmar, it is totally protected under the Wildlife Act of 1994.[9]
Viverricula malaccensis baliensis by Sody in 1931 was a male specimen from
Bali.[36]
Viverricula malaccensis muriavensis also by Sody in 1931 was also a male specimen collected near
Keling north of
Gunung Muria in
Central Java.[36]
Viverricula indica mayori by
Reginald Innes Pocock in 1933 was a civet skin from
Maha 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 from
Hasimara in the Bhutan
Dooars that differed slightly in colour from other civet skins collected in Bengal and
Assam.[37]
Viverricula indica wellsi by Pocock in 1933 was a richly tinted civet skin from
Kangra district in northwestern India.[37]
V. indica klossi by Pocock in 1933 was a dark brown skin of an adult female civet from
Penang in
Malay Peninsula.[37]
A
phylogenetic study showed that the small Indian civet is closely related to the genera Civettictis and Viverra. It was estimated that the Civettictis-Viverraclade diverged from Viverricula around 16.2
million years ago. The authors suggested that the
subfamily Viverrinae should be bifurcated into Genettinae including Poiana and Genetta, and Viverrinae including Civettictis, Viverra and Viverricula. 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 Civet Viverra 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.