The servaline genet (''Genetta servalina'') is a genet

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

native to

Central Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...

. As it is widely distributed and considered common, it is listed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

Characteristics

The servaline genet's fur is rufous with black spots on neck, back and sides. Its feet are black. Its long tail is banded with wide black and narrow white rings.Pucheran, J. (1855)
''Genetta servalina''
Revue et magasin de zoologie pure et appliquée: 154. It is short-haired and has a dark broken stripe along the spine. The tip of its tail is bright.Gaubert, P., Taylor, P. J., & Veron, G. (2005)
Integrative taxonomy and phylogenetic systematics of the genets (Carnivora, Viverridae, ''Genetta''): a new classification of the most speciose carnivoran genus in Africa
In: Huber, B. A., Sinclair, B. J., Lampe, K.-H. (eds.) African Biodiversity: Molecules, Organisms, Ecosystems. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium of Tropical Biology, Museum König, Bonn. Springer. Pp. 371–383. Measurements of male museum specimens range from in head and body with a long tail. Females range from in head and body with a long tail.

Distribution and habitat

The Servaline genet is distributed from the

Sanaga River The Sanaga River (formerly german: Zannaga) is the largest river in Cameroon located in East Region, Centre Region and Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Djérem and Lom River. The total length of Sanaga-Djérem Rive ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

southwards to the

Congo Basin The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...

and eastwards to

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. In the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

, it was recorded by

camera-trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor ...

s in the

Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic The Western Congolian forest–savanna mosaic is an ecoregion of Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, and Gabon. Geography The forest–savanna mosaic covers a region of dissected plateaus lying between the Congo Basin ...

Odzala-Kokoua National Park Odzala-Kokoua National Park (or Odzala National Park) is a national park in the Republic of the Congo. The park was first protected in 1935, declared a biosphere reserve in 1977, and granted official designation by presidential decree in 2001. Odz ...

during surveys in 2007. In

Udzungwa Mountains The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mostly within Iringa Region, south of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Udzungwa Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse ...

, a Lowe's servaline genet was recorded in 2000 and photographed in 2002 for the first time. In 2005, camera trap records were also obtained in the Uluguru and

Nguru Nguru may refer to: * Pila Nguru, an aboriginal people of Australia * Nguru (flute), a small Māori nose flute from New Zealand * Nguru, Nigeria, a town and LGA in Yobe State * Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, northern Nigeria * Nguru Lake, a lake whic ...

ranges at altitudes of . It is thought possible that it also occurs in other parts of the

Eastern Arc Mountains The Eastern Arc Mountains is a chain of mountains found in Kenya and Tanzania. The chain runs from northeast to southwest, with the Taita Hills being in Kenya and the other ranges being in Tanzania. They are delimited on the southwest by the fau ...

. The

Zanzibar servaline genet The Zanzibar servaline genet (''Genetta servalina archeri'') is a recently discovered subspecies of servaline genet endemic to Unguja Island in the Tanzanian archipelago of Zanzibar. Its conservation status is uncertain. Evolutionary history ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Unguja Island,

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

, and became known to science in 1995 when a specimen was killed close to the

Jozani Jozani is a village located in Kusini District of Unguja South Region of the Tanzanian island of Unguja (Zanzibar Island). It is located in the southeast of the island, 3.1 miles (5 km) south of Chwaka Bay, close to the edge of the Jozani-Chwak ...

forest. Several individuals were recorded by

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor ...

s for the first time in January 2003 in the

Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park The Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park is a national park in Tanzania located on the island of Zanzibar. It is the only national park in Zanzibar. The Zanzibar red colobus, '' Procolobus kirkii'' (its population count is about 1000) found in the p ...

Taxonomy

The servaline genet was first described by

Jacques Pucheran Jacques Pucheran (2 June 1817 – 13 January 1895) was a French zoologist born in Clairac. He was a grandnephew to physiologist Étienne Serres (1786-1868). Pucheran accompanied the expedition on the ''Astrolabe'' between 1837 and 1840, under the c ...

in 1855. Five

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognised: *''G. s. servalina'', the

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

*''G. s. bettoni'' (

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, 1902) *''G. s. schwarzi'' (Crawford-Cabral, 1970) *Lowe's servaline genet (''G. s. lowei'') ( Kingdon, 1977) was described on the basis of a single skin collected in 1932 in the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. *

(''G. s. archeri'') (Van Rompaey and Colyn, 1998) The

crested servaline genet The crested servaline genet (''Genetta cristata''), also known as the crested genet, is a genet species endemic to Nigeria and Cameroon. As the population has declined due to loss of habitat, it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. It ...

(''G. cristata'') was also considered to be a subspecies of the servaline genet, but is now generally regarded as a distinct species.

References

External links

National Geographic: Rare African Predator Photographed for First Time
{{Taxonbar, from=Q43211 Genets (animals) Fauna of Central Africa Mammals described in 1855