Geographic Range
Endemic to tropical rainforests along the western coast of India, brown palm civets
or Jerdon’s palm civets (
Paradoxurus jerdoni
) are usually found in high altitudes of the Western Ghats mountain range, 21 °N to
8 °N.
Habitat
Brown palm civets are nocturnal, arboreal, small carnivores that thrive in the high
altitude tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats in India. Brown palm civets prefer
an altitudinal range of 500 to 1,300 m. This region receives an annual rainfall of
approximately 1,500 mm in the eastern slopes, to over 3,000 mm in the western slopes.
Throughout the year, the temperature ranges from 19°C in January, to 24°C in April
and May. Humidity also varies throughout the year, from 60% in March, to 97% in November
and December. Due to continuous human development in this region, brown palm civets
are exposed to an increasing amount of habitat fragmentation. Large plantations of
coffee
,
cardamom
, and tea, fragment brown palm civets' habitat and introduce exotic food sources into
their diet.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- forest
- rainforest
- Other Habitat Features
- agricultural
Physical Description
Paradoxurus jerdoni
has not been studied extensively so there is still very little known about this species.
Museum specimens of brown palm civets have pale buff, light brown, or dark brown pelage
and a dark tail. Occasionally, the tail may have a white or pale yellow tip. Unlike
other civets,
P. jerdoni
has no distinct markings on its face. The characteristic that distinguishes them
from common palm civets (
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
) is the reverse direction of hair growth at their neck line. Measurements from a
limited number of museum specimens give a body length of 430 to 620 mm and a tail
length of 380 to 530 mm. A small study including seven individuals found a weight
range of 1.2 to 3.5 kg. Any difference between the sexes, or sexual dimorphism, was
not described in the literature.
Members of family
Viverridae
are characterized by a long and lean body, with short legs and a bushy tail nearly
as long as their body. Generally, members of this family have an elongated head, pointed
muzzle and a dental formula of 3/3, 1/1, 3-4/3-4, 1-2/1-2, including a carnassial
pair. The first digit on the fore- and hind foot in this family is often reduced or
lacking, creating a digital formula of 5/5, 5/4, or 4/4 (number of digits on forefoot/number
of digits on hind foot) and their claws can be retractile or non-retractile.
Palm civets
are well adapted to their arboreal lifestyle, with traction pads on their hind feet
and hook-like claws on their medial toes, to aid in climbing. Female
viverrids
generally have two to three pairs of mammae on their abdomen, but some forms may
have only one pair. Males have a baculum.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
The specific mating behaviors of this species have not yet been studied.
Currently, there is no information on the general reproductive behavior of brown palm
civets. For members of family
Viverridae
, the breeding season is in spring, summer, or throughout the year. The age of sexual
maturity is not currently known for this family. Once sexual maturity is reached,
many genera will produce two litters per year, with 1 to 6 offspring per litter. Very
few gestation periods are known for members of this family. Offspring are born blind,
but with hair.
Within genus
Paradoxurus
, females will most likely give birth to more than one litter of two to four young
throughout the year.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- year-round breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
The amount of parental care given by this species is not known at this time. But as
viverrid
young are born blind and relatively defenseless, it is assumed that some parental
care is involved.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
Lifespan/Longevity
The lifespan of
P. jerdoni
is not currently known, but most members in family
Viverridae
live 5 to 15 years in the wild.
Behavior
Brown palm civets are nocturnal, arboreal, and generally a solitary species. When
resting during the day,
P. jerdoni
exhibit a day-bed preference for the nests of
Indian giant squirrels
. These nests are found in trees and have greater girth and height than others nearby.
Brown palm civets exhibit a day resting range a third the size of their night foraging
range. Like other
viverrids
, brown palm civets have an anal scent gland that produces a pungent smelling fluid
as a defensive mechanism and they have been observed to fight when cornered.
Home Range
Paradoxurus jerdoni
are restricted to the tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats in India. They thrive
in areas with relatively undisturbed canopy and adequate food sources. Abundance of
brown palm civets is relatively greater in medium-sized (51 to 100 hectares) fragments
that border shade coffee plantations and is positively correlated to greater food-tree
densities and altitude.
Communication and Perception
Modes of communication have not yet been studied for brown palm civets and there is no general information available for the viverrid family.
Food Habits
Paradoxurus jerdoni
is predominantly frugivorous, foraging over a wide range, but has one of the smallest
diet ranges among South Asia’s small carnivores. Brown palm civets are considered
the most frugivorous species in family
Viverridae
, with a diet consisting of 97% fruit. They consume fruit that is predominately small
(less than 1 cm in diameter), multi-seeded, pulpy berries and drupes, with moderate
to high water content. Their diet consists largely of native fruit species and some
exotic fruits, such as
bananas
,
cardamoms
,
coffee
, and
guavas
. When fruit availability is low, they also supplement their diet with some invertebrates
(
insects
,
millipedes
,
centipedes
,
snails
and
crabs
) and rarely with small vertebrates (
rodents
, other small
mammals
,
birds
, and
reptiles
). Their “unspecialized” digestive system, characteristic of carnivores, and opportunistic
feeding strategy, gives them the unique ability to cope with fluctuations in food
availability.
- Animal Foods
- birds
- mammals
- insects
- mollusks
- aquatic crustaceans
- Plant Foods
- fruit
Predation
Known predators of brown palm civets include larger diurnal predators within the system.
Predators of
P. jerdoni
include
pythons
,
black eagles
, and
leopards
.
Ecosystem Roles
Paradoxurus jerdoni
specializes in seed dispersal. With a diet predominately composed of fruit,
viverrids
are considered among the most important mammalian seed dispersers in the forests
throughout Asia. The wide foraging range and unspecialized digestive system of brown
palm civets allows them to carry seeds away from parent trees and deposit them in
other sites, after passing through their digestive tract. The seeds remain relatively
undamaged with germination viability intact, or sometimes enhanced.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Brown palm civets' ability to disperse seeds over an extensive range and thrive in
fragmented habitats could play a role in restoring patches of degraded forest in the
Western Ghats. This wide dispersal also helps maintain, or increase diversity within
the forest.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
The highly varied and non-specific diet of brown palm civets allows for the consumption
and dispersal of introduced or exotic plant species such as
coffee
, and subsequently, the alteration of the understory of relatively undisturbed forests.
The implications of this alteration have yet to be studied. Their ability to access
and consume fruits from plantations bordering the forests may also make them a pest.
- Negative Impacts
- crop pest
Conservation Status
Brown palm civets are listed as a species of Least Concern under the IUCN Red List
and under CITES Appendix III, due to its abundance within disturbed and fragmented
areas. With a highly restricted distribution, continuous habitat loss and fragmentation,
the adaptability of
P. jerdoni
is constantly tested and, for the moment, they seem to be thriving. But the scarcity
of information and studies specific to this species leaves some concern over the status
of the population in some areas of their range.
Brown palm civets, while elusive for most researchers, are not without a wide range
of threats. While
P. jerdoni
may thrive around
coffee
and
cardamom
plantations, the conversion to tea does not support quality habitat or food for civets.
Habitat is also lost due to mining activities and hydroelectric projects throughout
the Western Ghats. While brown palm civets can adapt and persist in a fragmented habitat,
they are not without dangers, such as risk of road kill due to crossing roads between
fragments, or increasing human intrusions into the forest and changes in habitat structure.
Other Comments
While brown palm civets share some general characteristic with other members of the family Viverridae , they are a considerably unique species and there is still much to learn about these important frugivores.
Additional Links
Contributors
Jessica Bodle (author), University of Alaska Fairbanks, Laura Prugh (editor), University of Washington, Leila Siciliano Martina (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
- 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.
- 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.
- agricultural
-
living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.
- 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.
- 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.
- solitary
-
lives alone
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- frugivore
-
an animal that mainly eats fruit
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Ashraf, N., A. Kumar, A. Johnsingh. 1993. Two endemic viverrids of the Western Ghats, India. Oryx , 27: 109-114.
Mudappa, D., A. Choudbury. 2008. " Paradoxurus jerdoni " (On-line). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Version 2012.2. Accessed November 01, 2012 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/16104/0 .
Mudappa, D., R. Chellam. 2001. Capture and immobilization of Wild Brown Palm Civets in Western Ghats. Journal of Wildlife Diseases , 37(2): 383-386.
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.
Mudappa, D., B. Noon, A. Kumar, R. Chellam. 2007. Responses of small carnivores to rainforest fragmentation in the southern Western Ghats, India. Small Carnivore Conservation , 36: 18-26.
Mudappa, D. 2006. Day-bed choice by the brown palm civet ( Paradoxurus jerdoni ) in the Western Ghats, India. Mammalian Biology , 71: 238-243.
Nameer, P., S. Molur, S. Walker. 2001. Mammals of Western Ghats: A simplistic overview. Zoos' Print Journal , 16(11): 629-639.
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: 2077-2097.
Pillay, R. 2009. Observations of small carnivores in the southern Western Ghats, India. Small Carnivore Conservation , 40: 36-40.
Rajamani, N., D. Mudappa, H. Van Rompaey. 2002. Distribution and status of the Brown Palm Civet in the Western Ghats, South India. The Newsletter and Journal of the IUCN/SSC Mustelid, Viverrid & Procyonid Specialist Group , 27: 6-11.
Vaughan, T., J. Ryan, N. Czaplewski. 2011. Mammalogy . Sudbury, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, LLC.
Walker, E., F. Warnick, S. Hamlet, K. Lange, M. Davis, H. Uible, P. Wright. 1964. Mammals of the World . Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press.