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A civet (/ ˈ s ɪ v ɪ t /) is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species's diversity is found in southeast Asia.
The African civet is primarily nocturnal and spends the day sleeping in dense vegetation, but wakes up at sunset. It is a solitary mammal with a unique coloration: the black and white blotches covering its coarse pelage and rings on the tail are an effective cryptic pattern.
Four viverrid species (clockwise from top left): the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), the common genet (Genetta genetta), the binturong (Arctictis binturong), and the masked palm civet (Paguma larvata) Viverridae is a family of mammals in the order Carnivora, composed mainly of the civets and genets. A member of this family is ...
The African civet is one of the species that secretes civet fluid. A number of viverrid species secrete civet oil in their perineal glands, including the African civet (Civettictis civetta), large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha), and small Indian civet (Viverricula indica). Most civet is produced in African farms, where African civets are kept ...
The African palm civet is a nocturnal, largely arboreal mammal that spends most of the time on large branches, among lianas in the canopy of trees. It eats fruits such as those of the African corkwood tree (Musanga cecropioides), Uapaca, persimmon (Diospyros hoyleana), fig trees (Ficus), papayas (Carica papaya), and bananas (Musa).
The region where the civet was known to occur is the site of a major trading port, formerly including the trade of civets such as the large-spotted civet. Due to this, there is some speculation on whether the Malabar civet is an introduced population of the large-spotted civet that eventually died off. [2] [8]
Large Indian civet, a drawing by Brian Houghton Hodgson. Viverra zibetha was the scientific name for the large Indian civet introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. [10] Several naturalists proposed species and subspecies in the 19th and 20th centuries, of which the following were recognised as valid subspecies by 2005: [11]
Viverra is a mammalian genus that was first named and described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 as comprising several species including the large Indian civet (V. zibetha). [2] The genus was subordinated to the viverrid family by John Edward Gray in 1821.