Euplerinae, more commonly known as malagasy civets, is a
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
of
carnivora
Carnivora is a Clade, monophyletic order of Placentalia, placental mammals consisting of the most recent common ancestor of all felidae, cat-like and canidae, dog-like animals, and all descendants of that ancestor. Members of this group are f ...
ns that includes four species restricted 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 ...
. Together with 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 ...
, which also only occurs on Madagascar, it forms the family
Eupleridae
Eupleridae is a family of carnivorans endemic to Madagascar and comprising 10 known living species in seven genera, commonly known as euplerids, Malagasy mongooses or Malagasy carnivorans. The best known species is the fossa (''Cryptoproct ...
. Members of this subfamily, which include the
fossa (''Cryptoprocta ferox''),
falanouc
''Eupleres'' is a genus of two species of mongoose-like euplerid mammal native to Madagascar that are known as falanoucs. They are primarily terrestrial and consume mainly invertebrates.
Species
* Eastern falanouc, ''Eupleres goudotii'' - me ...
s (''Eupleres goudotii'' and ''Eupleres major'') and
Malagasy civet
The Malagasy or striped civet (''Fossa fossana''), also known as the fanaloka (Malagasy, ) or jabady, is an euplerid endemic to Madagascar. It is the only species in genus ''Fossa''.
The Malagasy civet is a small mammal, about long excluding ...
(''Fossa fossana''), were placed in families like
Felidae
Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the ...
and
Viverridae
Viverridae is a family of small to medium-sized, feliform mammals. The viverrids () comprise 33 species placed in 14 genera. This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821. Viverrids occur all over Africa, southern Europe, ...
before genetic data indicated their consanguinity with other Madagascar carnivorans. Within the subfamily, the falanouc and Malagasy civet are more closely related to each other than to the fossa.
Classification
Phylogenetic tree
The phylogenetic relationships of Malagasy civets (Euplerinae) are shown in the following cladogram:
See also
*
List of mammals of Madagascar
This is a list of the native wild mammal species recorded in Madagascar. As of June 2014 (following the IUCN reassessment of the lemurs) there are 241 extant mammal species recognized in Madagascar, of which 22 are critically endangered, 62 are end ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q745389
Euplerids