The Malabar large-spotted civet, also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India and is listed as Critically Endangered, with fewer than 250 mature individuals estimated. It has not been recorded in surveys carried out between 1990 and 2014. Edward Blyth described it in 1862 from a specimen from southern Malabar. It is dusky gray with a dark mark on the cheek, large transverse dark marks on the back and sides, two oblique dark lines on the neck, a white throat and neck, a mane starting between the shoulders and a dark ringed tail. In the nineteenth century it ranged along the Malabar coast from Honnavar to Kanyakumari in forest and wooded lowland, and late records came from cashew and rubber plantations in northern Kerala. It is thought to be nocturnal, and some doubt whether it is a valid species or an introduced population of the large-spotted civet.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) ThreatsAgriculture and Aquaculture 1 Relationship to PeopleFarmed or Commercially Raised 1 Living or Extinct Conservation Status Body Size Band Activity Pattern Connections
Child Taxon Of
Viverra, Taxa Source Malabar large-spotted civet (Wikipedia)
In Biome
Source Malabar large-spotted civet (Wikipedia)
In Ecosystem
Source Malabar large-spotted civet (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Malabar large-spotted civet (Wikipedia)LeadQuote, Lead
The Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina), also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
Sources
1. Malabar large-spotted civet (Wikipedia)
Lead
The Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina), also known as the Malabar civet, is a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
Lead, conservation status
It is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List as the population is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals.
Distribution and habitat
During camera trapping surveys in lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in the Western Ghats of Karnataka and Kerala from April 2006 to March 2007, no photographic record was obtained in a total of 1,084 camera trap nights.
Ecology and behavior
The Malabar civet is considered nocturnal and so elusive that little is known about its biology and ecology apart from habitat use.
Distribution and habitat, threats
Large-scale clearance for planting rubber trees threatened this habitat.
Threats
Until a few decades ago, local merchants in Kerala reared Malabar civets to obtain civetone, an extract from the scent gland, which was used in medicine, and as an aromatic.
Taxonomy
In spite of the heavy habitat destruction in the region, the civet still seems unusually threatened for a small, generalist carnivore.
Ecology
The Malabar civet is considered nocturnal
View the Source2. Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of Liverpool: AnAge entry for Viverra civettina
Human Ageing Genomic Resources, University of LiverpoolLifespan, maximum longevity
15.4 years (captivity)
Life history traits, adult weight
12,061 g
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