''Galidictis'' is a genus in the subfamily

Galidiinae Galidiinae is a subfamily of carnivorans that is restricted to Madagascar and includes six species classified into four genera. Together with the three other species of indigenous Malagasy carnivorans, including the fossa, they are currently cl ...

of the family

Eupleridae Eupleridae is a Family (biology), family of carnivorans endemic to Madagascar and comprising 10 known living species in seven genus, genera, commonly known as euplerids, Malagasy mongooses or Malagasy carnivorans. The best known species is t ...

: a group of

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, ...

ns that are endemic to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. The name is from two ancient Greek words that both approximately mean ‘weasel’: ''galid-'' (see ''

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 ...

'') and '' iktis''.''Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary'' attributes it to "NL, fr. Gk ''galideus'' young weasel + ''iktis'' yellow-breasted marten

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender ...

]." However, Lewis and Short describes ''ictis'' () as simply "a kind of weasel

'' Brill's New Pauly'' likewise also writes that "/ may be a wease

Compare the word ''

Galictis A grison , , also known as a South American wolverine, is any mustelid in the genus ''Galictis''. Native to Central and South America, the genus contains two extant species: the greater grison (''Galictis vittata''), which is found widely in So ...

'' (grison, a closer relative of the weasel). It contains the following two

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

and two subspecies:

References

Euplerids Mammal genera Endemic fauna of Madagascar Taxa named by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{carnivora-stub