Ring-tailed vontsira (Galidia elegans) 2

The ring-tailed vontsira, locally still known as the ring-tailed mongoose (''Galidia elegans'') is a

euplerid 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 (''Cryptoprocta ...

in 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 ...

, a carnivoran native 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 ...

. It is the only species in

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Galidia''.

Classification and etymology

There is much disagreement about the placement of Madagascar's carnivores, including the ring-tailed vontsira, within the

phylogenetic tree A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

. A 2003 study reported evidence that the Malagasy Carnivora evolved from a single

herpestid A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family is currently split into two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to so ...

ancestor. A monotypic genus, ''Galidia'' literally means "little

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender bo ...

", being a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

form of (, "weasel" in ancient Greek). Its local

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

is ''vontsira mena'', ‘red ''

vontsira 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 cla ...

''’ in Malagasy.

Description

The ring-tailed vontsira is relatively small but is the largest member of the subfamily

. It is usually long and weighs only . Its body is long and slender, and the rounded head has a pointed snout. The body is a dark red color and the feet are black. As the name implies, its bushy tail is covered with black and red rings and is similar to the red panda. Ring-tailed vontsira are very agile, and good climbers. They are quite playful and are active during the day. Their habitat consists of humid forests. Their diet is mostly of small mammals, invertebrates, fish, reptiles and eggs, but they occasionally eat insects and fruit. The population of ring-tailed vontsira has decreased by 20% during the period 1989-1999 due to habitat loss. Another problem is competition with the

small Indian civet The small Indian civet (''Viverricula indica'') is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agr ...

(''Viverricula indica'').

References

External links

*Animal Diversity We
Ring-tailed mongooseMalagasy ring-tailed mongoose (Galidia elegans)
- ARKive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Ring-Tailed vontsira Euplerids Endemic fauna of Madagascar Mongoose, Ring-tailed Mammals described in 1837 Taxa named by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire