The golden palm civet (Paradoxurus zeylonensis) is a civet endemic to Sri Lanka. It is a smallish civet and has a coat that is a golden brown or dark brown in color. The hair on the back of its neck grows reverse grain, from the shoulders toward the head.[3] It is poorly studied, but it is thought to feed on fruits, berries, insects, birds, frogs, and lizards.
Golden Palm Civet[1] | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Class: | |
Order: | |
Family: | |
Genus: | |
Species: | P. zeylonensis
|
Binomial name | |
Paradoxurus zeylonensis (Pallas, 1777)
| |
Golden palm civet range |
In Culture
In Sri Lanka this animal is called Pani uguduwa, Sapumal kalawaddha or Ranhothambuwa/Hotambuwa by the Sinhala speaking community.[3] However, the term Hotambuwa is mostly used to refer altogether a different species Ruddy Mongoose (Herpestes smithii). Due to similar appearance and coloration, they are mistaken as the same animal.
The golden palm civet and Asian palm civet are sometimes collectively called kalawedda in Sinhala and maram nai in Tamil.[3]
This civet appears in 3 rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp.[4] However, it is named as 'Golden Palm Cat' in the stamp.
References
- ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 551. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Template:IUCN2008 Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of vulnerable.
- ^ a b c Groves, Colin P. (2009). "The taxonomy of the endemic golden palm civet of Sri Lanka". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 155: 238–251. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00451.x.
{{cite journal}}
:|access-date=
requires|url=
(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help); line feed character in|coauthors=
at position 22 (help) - ^ Golden Palm Cat Stamp