The small-toothed palm civet (''Arctogalidia trivirgata''), also known as the three-striped palm civet, is a

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 de ...

native to dense forests of

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, from the Assam district of India to Indochina and the Malay Peninsula and on Sumatra, Bangka, Java, Borneo, and numerous small nearby islands of Indonesia. The first scientific description by

John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...

in 1832 was based on a

zoological specimen A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use. Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...

from the

Maluku Islands The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

in the collection of the

Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie The Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (National Museum of Natural History) was a museum on the Rapenburg in Leiden, the Netherlands. It was founded in 1820 by Royal Decree from a merger of several existing collections. This happened on the initi ...

in Leiden, Netherlands. It is blackish grey, has black paws and three black longitudinal stripes on the back. A

monotypic 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, ''Arctogalidia'' means ‘bear-weasel’ (from ancient Greek '' arkto-'' ‘bear’ + ''

galidia The ring-tailed vontsira, locally still known as the ring-tailed mongoose (''Galidia elegans'') is a euplerid in the subfamily Galidiinae, a carnivoran native to Madagascar. It is the only species in genus ''Galidia''. Classification and et ...

'' ‘little weasel’). The specific epithet ''trivirgata'' means ‘three-striped’ in Latin. The small-toothed palm civet is mid-sized by the standards of its family, weighing 2.4 kg (5.3 lbs) and measuring 53 cm (21 in) long along the body, plus a tail of 58 cm (23 in). It has short fur that is generally a tawny or buff color while the head is a darker greyish tawny. Its muzzle is brown with a white streak that extends from the nose to the forehead. Only the females have the perineal scent gland, located near the vulva. The diet is varied and omnivorous, and usually consists of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s, small mammals, nesting

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s and lizards. Matching the habits of other palm civets, this species is solitary, arboreal and nocturnal. Its gestation period is 45 days, and the average litter size is 3, which are born in dens made in the trees. Young open their eyes at 11 days and are weaned at two months. It can have two litters a year and there is no set mating season. It can live for 11 years. It is threatened primarily by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

, as are many Southeast Asian forest animals.

References

Mammals of Bangladesh Mammals of India Mammals of Southeast Asia Mammals of Thailand Mammals of Myanmar Mammals of China Mammals of Cambodia Mammals of Laos Mammals of Vietnam Carnivorans of Malaysia Mammals of Indonesia Mammals of Borneo Fauna of Sumatra Mammals of Singapore Mammals described in 1832 Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{carnivora-stub