Eupleres goudotii, Doyere, 1835
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5676533 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5698347 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D51587EF-FFEB-9A37-F0A7-15FCFE6AFCD3 |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Eupleres goudotii |
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2. View On
Falanouc
French: Euplére de Goudot / German: Ameisenschleichkatze / Spanish: Falanuc
Other common names: Fanaloka, Ridarida, Amboa Laolo
Taxonomy. Eupleres goudotii Doyere, 1835 View in CoL ,
“Tamatave” [= Toamasina] .
The two currently recognized subspecies of Eupleres show numerous morphological features that readily separate them, including foot structure, pelage coloration, and cranial and dental characters. They are apparently allopatric in their distributions. Further research into the level of differentiation of these two forms will probably indicate that they should be regarded as separate species.
Subspecies and Distribution.
E. g. goudotii Doyere, 1835 — E Madagascar.
E. g. major Lavauden, 1929 — W & NW Madagascar. View Figure
Descriptive notes. In the nominate form, E. g. goudotii: head-body 45.5-49. 5 cm,tail 22-24 cm, hindfoot 8.8-2 cm, ear 4.4-4 cm; weight 1.6-2. 1 kg. E. g. major. head-body 51-5—-65 cm, tail 24-25 cm, hindfoot 8.1-9. 2 cm, ear 4.7-5 cm; weight 2-8-4-6 [with heavy fat] kg. This species has an elongated, massive body, a long, narrow rostrum, prominent ears, notably large feet, and a short, rounded and tapered tail. Non-retractable claws on the forelimbs are very well-developed. When walking, the claws touch the ground, which gives the animal a slow and sauntering gait. In the nominate subspecies, the dense and soft body and tail fur are a uniform reddish-brown and the venter a brownish-beige. Eupleres g. major is darker in color, with the dorsum and tail a dark brown grizzled with gray, and the thighs and underparts often have an orangish tinge.
Habitat. The nominate form occurs across the eastern portion of the island at elevations from about 50 to 1600 m. Based on current limited data, it seems to prefer tracts of upland humid forest with natural aquatic habitats, and areas of marshland dominated by Cyperus and Raphia. There are a few observations of this animal in dense mesic forests away from aquatic and marshland habitats. On Montagne d’Ambre in the far north, this species can be seen with some regularity in an open grassy field that is seasonally flooded, close to irregularly used human habitations, and within 50 m of the forest edge. Even less is known about the habitat of the Wand NW form, E. g. major. This animal appears to have a relatively limited distribution, with most records coming from the Sambirano Region. However,it has been recorded as far south as the Baie de Baly near Soalala. Its preferred habitat has been cited as undisturbed forest areas and wetlands with Raphia and Afromomum; there is little in the way of undisturbed lowland forest in the Sambirano Region and the two cited plant genera are probably introduced to Madagascar. Much remains to be learned about this animal’s habitat requirements and distribution. This species might occur on the Manongarivo Massif, but two separate expeditions to different portions of this mountain found no evidence that it did. The geographical distribution of the two subspecies needs further research. The nominate form has been reported from the Tsaratanana Massif, a portion of which falls within the Sambirano Domain, a zone that has been cited as the stronghold of E. g. major. The previously cited record of this species on Ile Sainte Marie, an offshore island in the east, is actually from Sainte Marie de Marovoay, in the west, near a large marsh system and not far from the Ankarafantsika reserve.
Food and Feeding. The dentition of Falanouc is notably reduced, with tiny conical and flattened cusps, adapted to a soft-bodied invertebrate diet. This animal shows numerous convergent parallels to the Aardwolf (Proteles) of the hyena family. Its primary food appears to be earthworms, but is also known to feed on slugs, insects, frogs, and chameleons. In captivity it will consume small bits of meat. Local people report that Falanouc feeds on the fruits of Afromomum. Its long claws are used for scraping food items from shallow soil or rotten wood; prey is immobilized with the jaws and teeth.
Activity patterns. On the basis of the few observations of this species,it is best considered cathemeral. Individuals of this apparently largely terrestrial and solitary species have been observed or camera-trapped in the middle of the night, during the day, and in the early morning. When threatened, rather than fleeing, Falanouc can maintain a freezing position for up to one hour. The long thin front claws are used against potential predators with a lashing action. This species is known to store up to 800 g of subcutaneousfat in the tail, estimated to represent about 20% ofits average body weight. Accumulation oftail fat takes place before the cold and dry season (June to August), when accessible food, particularly invertebrates such as worms,is notably reduced. It is not known if these fat reserves are used as the energy source for some form of aestivation-hibernation, but they certainly would allow the animal to survive seasonal periods of decreased food availability. Individuals have been observed in July in the eastern humid forest, indicating that at least in this zone they are active during the cold and dry season.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Virtually no information. All known observations in the wild are ofsolitary individuals or females with their offspring. The home range ofthis animal has been proposed to be “very large,” but no numeric estimates are available. This species seems to be largely silent. In captivity only two vocalization types were noted, a sort ofspitting call connected with agnostic encounters and a hiccupping sound associated with mother-infant interactions. Olfactory communication is important, particularly during the breeding season, when individuals use different glands to mark territories and for other kinds of signals. Both males and females can be seen rubbing the anal gland on low vegetation and prominent rocks, and, to a lesser extent, rubbing the neck gland on vertical surfaces. It has been proposed that Falanoucs can dig their own dens in the soil; however, their long, thin claws are not really adapted for this type of activity. Animals captured by Roland Albignac did not show abraded claws. This species probably occupies previously existing burrows and holes, rather than digging these from scratch. It apparently sleeps at the base oftrees, sometimes using those protected by dense vegetation. Sub-adults are known to sleep in tree branches up to 1: 6 m off the ground; this behavior is unrecorded in adults.
Breeding. Few details are available on reproduction in the wild and the following is largely from captive animals. Copulation, which has yet to be observed, presumably takes place between August and September. The only recorded births were in mid-November, and each litter comprised a single young, although there are reports of litters of two. Females have one pair of inguinal mammae. Neonates weigh 150 g, their eyes are open, and the pelage is noticeably darker than that of adults. Within one or two days the young are able to walk normally and after a month they climb to arboreal sleeping sites. They are weaned at about nine weeks. The age of sexual maturity is unknown. In captivity these animals are apparently very susceptible to stress and difficult to maintain, but successful breeding has occurred at least on three occasions.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Listed in The IUCN Red List as Near Threatened; however, the result of a Conservation Breeding Specialist Group workshop sponsored by the[IUCN/SSC held in 2001 and attended by specialists working on Madagascar Carnivores gave the status of this species as Vulnerable. Given the secretive nocturnal habits of Falanouc and that few field researchers venture into marshlands, its apparently preferred habitat,little information is available to assessits conservation status. In total, there are fewer than 20 recent locality-based records of this animal, and estimates of the total adult population are impossible to make. In the 1990 and 1994 Red Data Books it was listed as Vulnerable, but on the basis of several human-related pressures, its status has been elevated to Endangered. These factors include ongoing habitat loss and degradation, hunting pressure for bush meat, and introduced species. Problems with introduced species have been cited as competition or outright predation from feral or hunting dogs and the Small Indian Civet, but no data have been published verifying this interaction. Virtually all terrestrial mammals on Madagascar are subject to some form of hunting pressure, often localized, and it is not clear that Falanouc is preferred bush meat.
Bibliography. Albignac (1973, 1974, 1984), Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (SSC/IUCN) (2002), Dollar (1999b, 2006), Goodman & Pidgeon (1999), Goodman & Soarimalala (2002), Goodman, Ganzhorn & Rakotondravony (2003), Grandidier & Petit (1932), Hawkins (1994), IUCN (2007), Kaudern (1915), Nicoll & Langrand (1989), Schreiber et al. (1989).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
