The Sumatran hog badger (''Arctonyx hoevenii'') is a species of

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family ...

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 else ...

to the island of Sumatra in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Taxonomy

It was formerly considered a subspecies of the greater hog badger (''A. collaris''), when it was considered the only species in the genus ''Arctonyx''. However, in 2008, a study proposed splitting ''A. collaris'' into 3 species, with one of these being ''A. hoevenii''. This finding was later followed by the American Society of Mammalogists.

Description

It is the smallest species of ''Arctonyx'', being about the size of a large

housecat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

. It also has sparser fur and a much darker pelage than the other two species in the genus.

Distribution

The species is

to the high-altitude regions of Sumatra, namely the Barisan Range, which extends along the length of the island. Its range extends to the foothills, as low as 700 meters above sea level, up to the very highest point on the island; in 1918, the skull of a Sumatran hog badger was discovered in the

alpine zone Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated alpine climate, harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alp ...

of Gunung Kerinci. Its core habitat is likely the

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

and mossy forests and subalpine meadows between 200 and 2600 meters above sea level. Despite being limited to a limited habitat type on an island, it is thought to be common throughout its range.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19717143 Badgers Mammals of Indonesia Endemic fauna of Sumatra Mammals described in 1891