Banded linsang

Banded linsang
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Prionodontidae
Genus: Prionodon
Species: P. linsang
Binomial name
Prionodon linsang[2]
(Hardwicke, 1821)
Banded linsang range

The banded linsang (Prionodon linsang) is a linsang, a tree-dwelling carnivorous mammal native to the Sundaic region of Southeast Asia.[1]

Characteristics

The banded linsang is around 74 cm (29 in) long including the tail. It is a pale yellow with 5 dark bands. It has broad stripes on its neck and its tail consists of several dark bands with a dark tip. The banded linsang has very sharp retractable claws and razor sharp teeth.

Distribution and habitat

The banded linsang has been recorded in southern Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, and the Sunda Islands of Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Bangka and Belitung Islands. It lives in evergreen forests. In Thailand and Malaysia it has been recorded in deciduous forest, and in Sarawak also in secondary forest and close to oil palm plantations.[1]

In 2013, a banded linsang was recorded for the first time by a camera-trap in the hill forests of Karen State.[3]

Ecology and behaviour

The banded linsang is nocturnal and usually solitary.[4]

Very little is known about the banded linsang's reproduction. It is thought that litters of 2–3 are born semiannually in a nest in burrows or hollow trees.[5]

Taxonomy

Until recently the two species of Asiatic linsangs were considered to be members of the family Viverridae and to be related to the morphologically similar genets. However, recent genetic taxonomy investigations have strongly suggested that the Asiatic linsangs are a sister-group of the cat family, Felidae. It has been proposed that the Asiatic linsangs be placed in the monogeneric family Prionodontidae.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Duckworth, J.W.; Mathai, J.; Chutipong, W.; Brodie, J. & Wilting, A. (2016). "Prionodon linsang". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T41705A45219711. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41705A45219711.en. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  2. Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. Saw Sha Bwe Moo; Froese, G.Z.L.; Gray, T. N.E. (2017). "First structured camera-trap surveys in Karen State, Myanmar, reveal high diversity of globally threatened mammals". Oryx: first view. doi:10.1017/S0030605316001113.
  4. Jennings, A.P. and Veron, G. (2015). Predicted distributions, niche comparisons, and conservation status of the Spotted Linsang (Prionodon pardicolor) and Banded Linsang (Prionodon linsang). Mammal Research 60: 107–116.
  5. Whitfield, P., ed. (1984). Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia. Macmillan Publishing Company. p. 92. ISBN 0-02-627680-1.
  6. Gaubert, P. and Veron, G. (2003). "Exhaustive sample set among Viverridae reveals the sister-group of felids: the linsangs as a case of extreme morphological convergence within Feliformia". Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, 270 (1532): 2523–2530. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2521


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