Diversity
Paradoxurus
is a genus of three species of palm civets native to Asia. Some distinct features
of the genus are they have a broad head with a narrow muzzle, large rounded ears,
and a tail that is usually as long as their head and body combined.
Geographic Range
Members of the genus
Paradoxurus
can be found throughout Southeast Asia. The most widespread species is the Asian
palm civet (
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
), which has populations spanning from Pakistan and India to as far east as the Philippines.
The other two species, the brown palm civet (
Paradoxurus jerdoni
) and the golden palm civet (
Paradoxurus zeylonensis
), occupy more specific ranges within the Western Ghats mountain range of West India
and the island nation of Sri Lanka respectively.
- Biogeographic Regions
- palearctic
- oriental
Habitat
Despite having few species,
Paradoxurus
can be found in a variety of habitats. Overall, members of
Paradoxurus
are arboreal and prefer areas with dense foliage for secluded shelter. They also
tend to choose wherever food is most abundant, picking fruit trees to call home. While
their most common habitat is temperate and tropical forests, Asian palm civets and
brown palm civets have been found to take shelter in human-developed places, such
as parks, gardens, or plantations. The golden palm civet, being endemic to an island,
inhabits all of the varying regions that make the island up. They can be found in
the dry scrublands to the rainy highlands.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- rainforest
- scrub forest
- mountains
Systematic and Taxonomic History
The genus
Paradoxurus
is part of the subfamily
Paradoxurinae
. The other genuses include
Arctictis
,
Paguma
, and
Arctogalidia
.
Paradoxurinae
is part of the family
Viverridae
which house other civets, genets and oyans. Within the genus there are only three
currently described species. The first two are
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
and
Paradoxurus jerdoni
. The third species,
Paradoxurus zeylonenesis
, was at one point proposed to be three different species, but later research found
there was too low genetic diversity to support this.
Physical Description
Members of the
Paradoxurus
genus tend to be small, ranging from 1 to 3.5 kg and an average body length of 50
cm and a tail length of an additional 40 cm. They have pointed snouts and elongated
heads. They have black, gray, or brown coats, although this depends on the species.
Brown palm civets will have light or dark brown fur while the golden palm civet has
a golden shade to its coat. Only common palm civets will be black and gray. They are
also the only species in
Paradoxurus
to have bands of white fur on their face similar to other species of civets in other
families.
Palm civets have feet well-adapted for their arboreal environment. They have naked
soles, a reduced first digit on both sets of feet, and traction pads on their hind
feet. There are very few distinguishing features between males and females, but females
do have two to three pairs of abdominal mammae and males possess a baculum, or penis
bone.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
All members of the genus
Paradoxurus
are nocturnal and avoid humans often, so very little is known about the species’
mating systems. Palm civets are solitary most of the time and only come together for
one to fifteen days to mate. They usually choose hollowed out trees to give birth
and raise young in.
Palm civets will breed year round and will likely mate multiple times in a year. Their
gestation period is between 60 and 90 days depending on the species, but all members
give birth to two to five kittens per litter, usually twice a year. The kittens are
born blind, but with hair, only weighing about 80 grams. In about two weeks, their
eyes will open and they will be fully weaned by two months. Palm civets aren’t sexually
mature until a year after birth.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
Palm civets are altricial and need their parents’ care for a time after birth. There
is very little information on how palm civets raise their offspring since the young
do not leave the tree for the first two months of being weaned. Females most likely
carry the bulk of the investment, being in charge of providing nourishment both before
and after weaning.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- female parental care
Lifespan/Longevity
While other members of the Viverridae family usually live to be 5-15 years old in
the wild, common palm civets have been known to live on average 15-20 years and even
longer in captivity. Golden and brown palm civets on the other hand usually live around
10 years in the wild.
Behavior
All three species of palm civets are nocturnal, arboreal, and solitary outside of
mating seasons. They are usually only active at night, awakening at dusk and trying
to find a place to rest before dawn. The brown palm civet has been recorded using
the nests of Indian giant squirrels (
Ratufa indica
) as day-beds. It has also been observed that palm civets like darker nights more.
During this time, they search for food. If an area has plenty of food, then a palm
civet will tend to stay in one spot. Only if food begins to run out will a palm civet
travel into a neighboring civet’s territory. Males are usually more active than females
and can travel further in a day. While they are skilled climbers, they are not particularly
agile and move slower than other tree-dwelling animals. If cornered, some species
have been known to fight and release a pungent chemical from their anal scent gland
as defense.
Communication and Perception
Palm civets rely on their scent glands more than sounds to communicate. The only times
palm civets are vocal are when they are being agitated. By combining the secretions
from their scent glands with urine and feces, palm civets will mark their territories
with a scent marking that is unique to the individual. Civets will also spray this
scent as self-defense against predators or intruders to their territory. Males mark
their surroundings much more often than females will. Males and females have also
been observed to use different methods of application for their scent markings. Both
sexes will secrete their mixture onto the ground, but then males will wipe their hind
legs in it and then rub the scent onto trees and rocks. Females will drag their anus
along the scent and spread it on the ground.
- Other Communication Modes
- scent marks
Food Habits
Plant matter makes up the bulk of the diets of the members in
Paradoxurus
, but the animals are truly omnivorous, eating whatever becomes available to them
at the moment. Different species will be more or less likely to exclusively seek out
plants to eat over meat.
Paradoxurus jerdoni
is one of the biggest herbivores in the entire family of
Viverridae
for example. All species do have unspecialized digestive systems though and can change
their diet with ease. The fruits that palm civets often pick from are figs, chiku,
mangoes, coffee, guava, rambutan, pineapples, bananas, cardamom, papayas, and pulpy
berries. Their favorite trees to feed from though are palm trees which gave them their
common name palm civet. Asian palm civets have also been found to feed on the sap
and nectar of various native trees. When hunting, palm civets will prey on small rodents,
birds, reptiles, frogs, moths, insects, millipedes, centipedes, arachnids, crustaceans,
snails, shrews, worms, and eggs. Since palm civets are foragers and will often move
around to find food whenever it’s scarce, they can often be found in urban areas such
as gardens or plantations looking for food.
- Primary Diet
-
carnivore
- eats terrestrial vertebrates
- eats eggs
- insectivore
- eats non-insect arthropods
- molluscivore
- herbivore
- omnivore
Predation
The main predators of palm civets are the ones that are best suited to hunt an arboreal
and nocturnal animal like the members of
Paradoxurus
. Large cats, like tigers and leopards, and pythons are skilled at hunting in the
dark or in trees. Black eagles are also a predator of Asian palm civets, able to fly
into a tree and carry a civet away.
Ecosystem Roles
The main role palm civets play in their ecosystem is the dispersal of seeds. Since
viverrids eat fruit as most of their diet, they are often considered one of the most
important dispersers of seed across the forests of Asia. As the palm civets move around
their environment, they will pass the seeds in their feces several hundred meters
from their tree of origin. The feces also allows for the seed to quickly be fertilized
and begin growing. Forests become more and more fragmented due to human activity,
palm civets are crucial in reconnecting these patches through their seed dispersal.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
The earliest use humans had for palm civets was to use their sweet-smelling musk to
conceal the smell of scabies, but now that musk is sold as a perfume. People have
also kept palm civets as ratcatchers since they have been known to eat rodents in
the wild. Some uses for certain species include golden palm civets being used to study
rabies and help control the disease in Sri Lanka and Asian palm civets aiding in the
production of one of the world’s most expensive coffees. Kopi luwak is made from the
pits of coffee cherries that the civets eat and sells for over $100/lb. Civets tend
to only pick the best and ripest coffee cherries and the pit gains a unique flavor
after being passed through their digestion system.
- Positive Impacts
- food
- body parts are source of valuable material
- source of medicine or drug
- research and education
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
The most common problem palm civets cause for humans is when they raid plantations
for fruit. Their ability to consume a wide variety of fruits and disperse their seeds
also threatens to introduce new species into the ecosystem. Palm civets are also very
noisy at night and can be quite a nuisance if they decide to nest in an area populated
by humans. Golden palm civets are also a possible carrier of rabies in Sri Lanka,
posing a threat to humans and domesticated animals.
- Negative Impacts
-
injures humans
- carries human disease
- crop pest
- causes or carries domestic animal disease
Conservation Status
All three species within
Paradoxurus
are considered a species of Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List. They are
highly adaptable and can be found in large numbers throughout areas that have been
disturbed and fragmented. Most palm civets are quite elusive, so it’s hard to get
a good understanding of their population numbers. Although they are currently nowhere
near the threat of extinction, palm civets do face some dangers in the future if left
unchecked. Increasing amounts of over-logging are shrinking the forest most civets
call home. Palm civets also are often hunted to reduce their effect on crop production.
Additionally, the rabies disease in golden palm civets will be fatal to them if left
untreated and they are often hunted in an effort to prevent the disease from spreading
more.
Additional Links
Contributors
Jonas Cox (author), Colorado State University, Audrey Bowman (editor), Colorado State University.
- Palearctic
-
living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- urban
-
living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity.
- suburban
-
living in residential areas on the outskirts of large cities or towns.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- year-round breeding
-
breeding takes place throughout the year
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- solitary
-
lives alone
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- scent marks
-
communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- drug
-
a substance used for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease
- causes or carries domestic animal disease
-
either directly causes, or indirectly transmits, a disease to a domestic animal
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
- molluscivore
-
eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
- frugivore
-
an animal that mainly eats fruit
- granivore
-
an animal that mainly eats seeds
- nectarivore
-
an animal that mainly eats nectar from flowers
- omnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals
References
Bartels, E. 1964. On Paradoxurus hermaphroditus javanicus (Horsfield, 1824). The common palm civet or tody cat in Western Java. Notes on its food and feeding habits. Its ecological importance for wood and rural biotopes.. Beaufortia , 10/124: 193-201.
Blanford, W. 1885. A Monograph of the Genus Paradoxurus, F. Cuv.. Proceedings of the Zoological Society , 1885: 780-808.
Dhungel, S., W. Edge. 1985. Notes on the natural history of Paradoxurus hermaphroditus.. Mammalia , 49/2: 302-303.
Groves, C., C. Rajapaksha, K. Manemandra-Arachchi. 2009. The taxonomy of the endemic golden palm civet of Sri Lanka.. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 155/1: 238-251.
Miller, G. 1913. Fifty-one new Malayan Mammals.. Smithsonian Institution Miscellaneous Collection , 61/21: 1-30.
Mudappa, D., A. Kumar, R. Chellam. 2010. Diet and fruit choice of the brown palm civet Paradoxurus jerdoni, a viverrid endemic to the Western Ghats rainforest, India.. Tropical Conservation Science , 3/3: 282-300. Accessed February 06, 2022 at http://tropicalconservationscience.mongabay.com/content/v3/10-09-27_toc.html .
Patou, M., A. Wilting, P. Gaubert, J. Esselstyn, C. Cruaud, A. Jennings, J. Fickel, G. Veron. 2010. Evolutionary history of the Paradoxurus palm civets - a new model for Asian biogeography. Journal of Biogeography , 37/11: 2077-2097.
Pocock, R. 1934. The Palm Civets or " Toddy Cats " of the genera Paradoxurus and Pagutna inhabiting British India. Pts. ii, iii.. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society , 37: 172-192.
Tanomtong, A., A. Chaveerach, A. Sriphoom, R. Bunjonrat. 2005. Cytogenetic study on wild animal species of the subfamily Paradoxurinae in Thailand.. Cytologia (Tokyo) , 70/3: 249-255.
Veron, G., M. Patou, M. Toth, M. Goonatilake, A. Jennings. 2015. How many species of Paradoxurus civets are there? New insights from India and Sri Lanka. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research , 53/2: 161-174.