The Sulawesi palm civet (''Macrogalidia musschenbroekii''), also known as Sulawesi civet, musang and brown palm civet is a little-known

palm civet ''Paradoxurus'' is a genus of three palm civets within the viverrid family that was denominated and first described by Frédéric Cuvier in 1822. The ''Paradoxurus'' species have a broad head, a narrow muzzle with a large rhinarium that is deepl ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

to Sulawesi. It is listed as

Vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

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 the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

due to population decline estimated to have been more than 30% over the last three generations (suspected to be 15 years) inferred from

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and

degradation Degradation may refer to: Science * Degradation (geology), lowering of a fluvial surface by erosion * Degradation (telecommunications), of an electronic signal * Biodegradation of organic substances by living organisms * Environmental degradatio ...

. ''Macrogalidia'' is a

monospecific In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

. It is the only

carnivora Carnivora is a monophyletic order of placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all cat-like and dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are formally referred to as carnivorans, ...

n native to Sulawesi.

Characteristics

The Sulawesi civet has a light brownish-chestnut coloured soft and short coat with numerous light hairs intermixed. The underparts vary from fulvous to white; the breast is rufescent. There is a pair of indistinct longitudinal stripes and some faint spots on the hinder part of the back. The

whiskers Vibrissae (; singular: vibrissa; ), more generally called Whiskers, are a type of stiff, functional hair used by mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coarser ...

are mixed brown and white. The tail is marked with alternating rings of dark and pale brown, which are indistinct on the under surface, and disappear towards the dark tip. The length of head and body is about with a long tail. The

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, t ...

with the

bony palate The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate made up of two bones of the facial skeleton, located in the roof of the mouth. The bones are the palatine process of the maxilla and the horizontal plate of palatine bone. The hard palate spans th ...

is much produced backwards, but otherwise resembles that of

Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad ran ...

(''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''). The teeth differ from those of all the ''

Paradoxurus ''Paradoxurus'' is a genus of three palm civets within the viverrid family that was denominated and first described by Frédéric Cuvier in 1822. The ''Paradoxurus'' species have a broad head, a narrow muzzle with a large rhinarium that is deepl ...

'' species in that the two cheek-series run nearly parallel, in place of being widely divergent posteriorly.

Distribution and habitat

Sulawesi palm civets were recorded in lowland forest, lower and upper montane forest at elevations up to , grasslands and near farms. They appear to be more common in forests than in agricultural areas. Although they appear to be generalists that can probably tolerate some degree of disturbed habitat, there is no evidence that populations can survive independent of tall forest. Between September 2016 and April 2017, Sulawesi palm civets were recorded in

Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park Bogani Nani Wartabone National Park is a 2,871 km2 (1,108 mi2) national park on Minahassa Peninsula on Sulawesi island, Indonesia. Formerly known as Dumoga Bone National Park, it was established in 1991 and was renamed in honour of Na ...

and in

Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve Tangkoko Batuangus Nature Reserve also known as Tangkoko-Batuangus Dua Saudara is a nature reserve in the northern part of Sulawesi island of Indonesia, two hours drive from Manado. The reserve covers an area of 8,700 hectares and includes three ...

at elevations of .

Ecology and behaviour

Sulawesi palm civets are partially

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...

, apparently

nocturnal Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have ...

, and

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, feeding on small mammals, fruit and grass. They occasionally take birds and farm animals. Their home range is estimated at about .

References

External links

*http://arcbc.org/cgi-bin/abiss.exe/spd?SID=587127028&spd=14358&sub=0&tx=MA {{Taxonbar, from=Q612589 Viverrids Endemic fauna of Indonesia Mammals of Sulawesi Carnivorans of Asia Vulnerable fauna of Asia Mammals described in 1877