Fossa fossana (Muller, 1776)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5676533 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5698349 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D51587EF-FFEC-9A37-F0C0-1851F8E4F99F |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Fossa fossana |
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3. View On
Spotted Fanaloka
French: Fossane / German: Fanaloka / Spanish: Fosana
Other common names: Malagasy Civet, Tombokatosody, Tomkasodina, Tambosadina, Kavahy, Fanaloka
Taxonomy. Viverra fossana Muller, 1776 View in CoL ,
Madagascar.
The specific name of this animal has varied in the literature: Fossa fossa, F. daubentoni, and F. major: are all synonyms of F. Jfossana. Monotypic.
Distribution. Madagascar. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 40-45 cm, tail 22.1-26. 4 cm, hindfoot 8.4-9-3 cm, ear 4.4-4. 8 cm; weight of adult males 1.5-1. 9 kg and adult females 1.3-1.75 kg. These weights are probably at the lower end of the normal range, as trapping occurred during the winter, when food may have been in short supply. This animal, with its short legs, pointed snout, bushy tail, and large body is very reminiscent of a civet; hence the misleading and formerly used English common name “Malagasy Civet”. The dense dorsal pelage ranges from tan to light brown. There are two nearly continuous black mid-dorsal lines. These are bordered by a row of partially-broken stripes. Below them is a row of spots on the flanks; there are also scattered spots on the flanks. The throat, lower neck, and balance of venter vary in color from cream to pale orange. The tail is medium brown with a series of concentric rings and spots.
Habitat. This species occurs in a variety of habitat types, but seems most common in humid eastern forests from near sea level to about 1300 m. In this habitat it is usually found in areas with watercourses. It is known to occur in forested limestone canyons in the Réserve Spéciale d’Ankarana, a dry deciduous forest with no permanent ground water, and has been found resting on sand in littoral forests in the vicinity of Tolagnaro. It also has been seen in the transitional dry-humid forests of the Sambirano and the isolated humid forest of Montagne d’Ambre.
Food and Feeding. In the eastern humid forests of Madagascar, Spotted Fanaloka feeds on various prey, but seems to specialize on aquatic organisms such as amphibians, crustaceans, crabs, eels, and perhaps invertebrate larvae, which it readily hunts in shallow water. It also feeds on terrestrial insects, reptiles, small birds, rodents, and tenrecids. In a study of scat remains recovered at humid forest sites in the south-east, prey items included three species of rodent (two introduced); up to six species of tenrecids; crabs; snakes; frogs; millipedes; various types of beetles; grasshoppers; and a lizard. There are notable seasonal shifts in its diet. At the end of the wet season, insects, reptiles, and amphibians make up 96% of the diet, and during the dry season insects, crabs, and mammals compose 94%. This species also has been trapped with fruit bait.
Activity patterns. Spotted Fanaloka is nocturnal and digitgrade. It stores fat in the tail before the start of the cold dry season, when many forest organisms in its prey base become scarce. These fat deposits can reach 25% of the normal body mass and allow the animal to survive periods of food scarcity. There is no evidence that this species aestivates or hibernates.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Few details are available and most come from the region of Vevembe. Here Spotted Fanaloka density was high: 22 animals were trapped in an area of about 2 km? during the last two weeks ofJuly 1999. Ten of these animals were recaptured during the two-week period and the rest may have been non-territorial transients. This study occurred during the cold dry season, which is presumably a lean period for food. Preliminary analyses of four individuals radiotracked from mid-July to the end of September 1999 provided home range estimates for males and females of 0-07 to 0-52 km? This study ended at the start of the mating season, when males remain close to females in small core areas of their established territory, presumably to guard against the intrusion of unpaired males. Spotted Fanaloka is not known to occupy ground dens, but rather to live in tree trunk hollows and rock shelters. Spotted Fanaloka apparently does not have a large vocal repertoire. It uses a muffled growl during agonistic encounters and a cry for adult-young communication. It has a strong, distinctive musky smell and olfactory signaling is important. Glands on the neck and cheeks and an anal gland, particularly well-developed during the breeding season, are used in olfactory communication and to mark territories.
Breeding. Spotted Fanaloka is a seasonal breeder, with copulation occurring in August and September and births from October to December. The gestation period, based on captive animals, is 80-89 days. Females have one pair of inguinal mammae. The single young weighs about 100 g at birth and is developmentally precocious. The tail rings and back markings are more distinct than in adults. Neonates are born with their eyes open. They start to crawl within a day after birth and are walking on day three. The incisors erupt by day three and the premolars on day five. The ears open on day eight. The young eat solid food after about a month and are weaned within 2-5 months. They are adult size after one year.
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 in 2001 and attended by specialists working on Madagascar Carnivores gave the status of this species as Least Concern. It has been suggested that its strongholds are in the Mananara and Masoala portions of the east. Biological exploration of this vast region of eastern Madagascar in the past few decades has made it clear that Spotted Fanaloka has a broad distribution in the relatively intact portions of this zone, as well as in a few other formations. Unlike some other small species of Eupleridae , such as Ring-tailed Vontsira, Spotted Fanaloka does not seem to occur in, or have the ability to colonize, secondary forest habitats. In the countryside, Spotted Fanalokas are considered vermin because of their purported predation on chickens. Villagers kill them and other carnivores caught raiding fowl and also set traps in the forest baited with rats or mice. People also hunt them for food. As habitat degradation and human persecution of this species continues, their status of Vulnerable is unlikely to improve. Little is known about the genetic structure of wild populations across the island, which is certainly a critical question in the development of long-term conservation programs.
Bibliography. Albignac (1971a, 1972, 1973, 1984), Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (SSC/IUCN) (2002), Duckworth & Rakotondraparany (1990), Golden (2005), Goodman & Pidgeon (1999), Goodman, Kerridge & Ralisoamalala (2003), IUCN (2007), Jenkins & Carleton (2005), Kerridge et al. (2003), Sovey et al. (2001), Wemmer (1971), ZICOMA (1999).
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