Rusty-spotted genet

The rusty-spotted genet, also called the panther genet or large-spotted genet, is a widely distributed genet of sub-Saharan Africa. It has short whitish grey to pale yellow fur with dark spots and a continuous dark line along the back, the spots of the upper two dorsal rows being round or square and brown in the centre. It measures 42 to 52 centimetres in head and body length with a ringed tail of 40 to 53 centimetres and weighs 1.3 to 3 kilograms. Research in southeastern Nigeria showed an omnivorous diet of rodents, birds, reptiles, skinks, spiders and insects together with eggs, fruits, berries and seeds. John Edward Gray first described it in 1830 as Viverra maculata from an animal in the menagerie at the Tower of London, and it is now classed as a distinct species. It is common and listed as Least Concern.