The crested servaline genet (''Genetta cristata''), also known as the crested genet, is a genet

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

endemic to

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. As the population has declined due to

loss of habitat Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, it is listed as Vulnerable on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

. It was first recorded in the Mamfe Division in Cameroon and initially considered a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the servaline genet (''Genetta servalina''). But now it is regarded as a distinct species.Gaubert, P., Taylor, P. J., & Veron, G. (2005)
Integrative taxonomy and phylogenetic systematics of the genets (Carnivora, Viverridae, ''Genetta''): a new classification of the most speciose carnivoran genus in Africa
In: Huber, B. A., Sinclair, B. J., Lampe, K.-H. (eds.) African Biodiversity: Molecules, Organisms, Ecosystems. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium of Tropical Biology, Museum König, Bonn. Springer. Pp. 371–383.

Characteristics

The crested servaline genet is a rather small and slender genet with relatively long legs and a narrow face. Its khaki colored fur is short, soft and dense with dark spots that are densely and evenly distributed. Its long tail is banded with wide black bands and thin whitish bands. Its crest on the back of the neck does not extend onto the back. Its feet are dark. It has a dark discontinuous mid-dorsal line with relatively long hairs that form a nuchal crest.

Distribution and habitat

The crested servaline genet occurs in southern

from the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

east into

to the Sanaga River. It inhabits scrub, low tangled vegetation and bare ground below trees in tall

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, after flo ...

. Occasionally it has also been recorded in secondary and montane forest. In Nigeria it is associated with primary dry forest, bush–

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

plantations inside the forest, and to a lesser extent to secondary dry forest and primary flooded forest. It avoids suburban areas, pineapple plantations, bushlands and oil-palm plantations. It is restricted to lower elevations from sea level to about elevation. Its presence has been predicted in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

and

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, but not been confirmed.Gaubert, P., Papes, M. and Peterson, A.T. (2006). Natural history collections and the conservation of poorly known taxa: Ecological niche modeling in central African rainforest genets (''Genetta'' spp.). Biological Conservation 130: 106–117.

Threats

The crested servaline genet is threatened by

. The major areas of its occurrence in the Cross River State Forests is being converted into agriculturally used land; oil is produced in the

. It may also be subject to pressure from intensive hunting.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q43223 crested servaline genet Mammals of West Africa Mammals of Cameroon crested servaline genet