The golden palm civet (''Paradoxurus zeylonensis'') 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 ...

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 else ...

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

. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and the extent and quality of its habitat in Sri Lanka's hill regions are declining. The golden palm civet was described by

Peter Simon Pallas Peter Simon Pallas FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810. Life and work Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery ...

in 1778.

Taxonomy

''Viverra zeylonensis'' was the scientific name proposed by

in 1778 for a palm civet specimen from Sri Lanka. Between the 19th and early 21st centuries, several

zoological specimens 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 ...

were described, including: *''Paradoxurus aureus'' by

Frédéric Cuvier Georges-Frédéric Cuvier (28 June 1773 – 24 July 1838) was a French zoologist and paleontologist. He was the younger brother of noted naturalist and zoologist Georges Cuvier. Career Frederic was the head keeper of the menagerie at the Musé ...

in 1822 *''Paradoxurus montanus'' by

Edward Frederick Kelaart Lieutenant Colonel Edward Frederick Kelaart (21 November 1819 – 31 August 1860) was a Ceylonese-born physician and naturalist. He made some of the first systematic studies from the region and described many plants and animals from Sri Lanka. B ...

in 1852 who described a fulvous brown palm civet from the mountains of Sri Lanka, which he considered a variety of the golden palm civet. *''Paradoxurus stenocephalus'' by

Colin Groves Colin Peter Groves (24 June 1942 – 30 November 2017) was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist. Groves was Professor of Biological Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Education Born in Englan ...

and colleagues in 2009 who described a golden brown specimen from Sri Lanka's dry zone. They proposed to regard ''P. montanus'', ''P. aureus'' and ''P. stenocephalus'' as distinct species based on coat colour and

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, th ...

measurements of specimens. Genetic analysis indicates that specimens of ''P. montanus'', ''P. aureus'' and ''P. stenocephalus'' share the same haplotype. Because of their low genetic difference, they should neither be considered distinct species nor subspecies, but junior synonyms of the golden palm civet.

Characteristics

The golden palm civet is gold to golden brown on the upper side and paler gold on the belly. Individuals vary from dark sepia to ochreous, rusty or golden-brown. The tips of the contour hairs are frequently lustrous, sometimes greyish. The legs are about the same tint as the back, but the tail and the face are sometimes noticeably paler, buffy-grey. The face does not have a pattern, and the

vibrissae 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 dirty white. The hair in front of the shoulders radiates from two

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

and grows forward along the sides of the neck and the nape to the head. It also grows forward on the fore throat, radiating from a single whorl. The dorsal pattern consists of faint bands and spots that are slightly darker than the ground colour. The lower side is slightly paler and sometimes greyer than the upper. The golden palm civet has two morphs — one golden and one dark brown. Specimens from montane areas are darker, slightly greyish-toned wood-brown, and paler on the underside with a yellowish-white tail tip. The rounded ears have hairless edges. The eyes are large with vertical

pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the Iris (anatomy), iris of the Human eye, eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing ...

s. It emits a pleasant odour from

anal gland Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvi ...

s, which is reminiscent of ''

Michelia champaca ''Magnolia champaca'', known in English as champak (), is a large evergreen tree in the family Magnoliaceae.

'' flowers.

Distribution and habitat

The golden palm civet inhabits lowland

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, montane

evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, Live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...

s, and also dense monsoon forest.

Ecology and behaviour

The golden palm civet is forest-dependent, yet tolerant of minor habitat modification where some continuous forest remains. It is arboreal, nocturnal, and solitary; its diet consists of

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 ...

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordat ...

, and a wide range of small

vertebrates Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

In culture

In Sri Lanka the golden palm civet is called , , or / , by the Sinhala speaking community. Both golden and

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 rang ...

s are sometimes collectively called in Sinhala and ''maranai'' (மரநாய்) in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

. However, the word is mostly used to refer altogether a different species, the

ruddy mongoose The ruddy mongoose (''Urva smithii'') is a mongoose species native to hill forests in India and Sri Lanka. Description The ruddy mongoose's fur is brownish and coarse, long in hindquarters, but short in other parts of the body. Its head to body ...

(''Herpestes smithii''). Due to similar appearance and coloration, they are mistaken as the same animal. This civet appears on the 3- rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp. However, it is labeled "Golden Palm Cat" on the stamp.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q559044

golden palm civet The golden palm civet (''Paradoxurus zeylonensis'') is a palm civet endemic to Sri Lanka. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and the extent and quality of its habitat in Sri Lanka's hill ...

Mammals of Sri Lanka Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka