Crested servaline genet

The crested servaline genet, also called the crested genet, is a genet endemic to southern Nigeria and Cameroon, where it occurs from the Niger Delta east to the Sanaga River. It was first recorded in the Mamfe Division of Cameroon and long treated as a subspecies of the servaline genet before being recognised as a distinct species. It is rather small and slender with relatively long legs and a narrow face, short soft dense khaki fur with dark spots evenly spread, a long tail with wide black bands and thin whitish ones, and a crest on the nape that does not extend onto the back. It lives in scrub and low tangled vegetation below tall forest at elevations up to about 1,000 metres. Loss of forest to agriculture and oil production, and intensive hunting, have reduced the population, and it is listed as Vulnerable.