spotted linsang
{{Short description|Species of carnivore}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Spotted linsang
| fossil_range = Middle Miocene-Present
| image = Prionodon pardicolor - Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology - DSC02486.JPG
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status2 = CITES_A1
| status2_system = CITES
| genus = Prionodon
| species = pardicolor{{MSW3 Wozencraft | id=14000373 |heading=Species Prionodon pardicolor}}
| authority = Hodgson, 1842
| range_map = Spotted Linsang area.png
| range_map_caption = Spotted linsang range
}}
The spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor) is a linsang, a tree-dwelling carnivorous mammal, native to much of Southeast Asia. It is widely, though usually sparsely, recorded, and listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Characteristics
The spotted linsang resembles the banded linsang in its long, slender body, short limbs, elongated neck and head, and long tail. The ground colour ranges from dusky brown to light buff. Two long stripes extend from behind the ears to the shoulders or beyond, and two shorter stripes run along the neck. Three to four longitudinal rows of spots adorn the back, their size decreasing towards the belly. The fore legs are spotted to the paw, the hind legs to the hock. The cylindrical tail has eight or nine broad dark rings, separated by narrow white rings. The feet have five digits, and the area between the pads is covered with hair. The claws are retractile, claw sheaths are present on the fore paws, but the hind-paws have protective lobes of skin.Van Rompaey, H. (1995). The Spotted Linsang, Prionodon pardicolor. Small Carnivore Conservation 13: 10–13.
It weighs about {{cvt|1|lb|kg|order=flip}} and measures in length about {{cvt|14|-|15|in|order=flip}} with a {{cvt|12|-|13|in|cm|order=flip}} long tail. Its height is about {{cvt|5|-|5.5|in|cm|order=flip}}, the girth of its chest {{cvt|5.75|in|cm|order=flip}}, and length of head to the occiput about {{cvt|3|in|cm|order=flip}}.{{cite journal |last1=Hodgson |first1=B. H. |year=1847 |title=Observations on the manners and structure of Prionodon pardicolor |journal=Calcutta Journal of Natural History |volume=8 |pages=40–45 |url=https://archive.org/stream/calcuttajournalo08#page/40/mode/2up}}
Distribution and habitat
The range of the spotted linsang includes eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Assam and Bengal in India, Bhutan, northeastern Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam, and western Sichuan, Yunnan Guizhou and southwestern Guangxi in southern China. It is uncommon to rare throughout this range.
It is rarely observed in northern Bengal.{{cite journal |author1=Choudhury, A. U. |year=1999 |title=Conservation of small carnivores (mustelids, viverrids, herpestids and one ailurid) in north Bengal, India |journal=Small Carnivore Conservation |issue=20 |pages=15–17}} It primarily inhabits evergreen forests and shrubland. A large portion of this habitat is not protected, and this may cause the spotted linsang to be threatened with extinction due to habitat loss.{{cite journal |author1=Jennings, A.P. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Veron, G. |year=2015 |title=Predicted distributions, niche comparisons, and conservation status of the spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor) and banded linsang (Prionodon linsang) |journal=Mammal Research |volume=60 |issue=2 |pages=107−116|doi=10.1007/s13364-014-0204-y |s2cid=17396993}}
In Nam Et-Phou Louey National Biodiversity Conservation Area, it was observed in secondary vegetation dominated by banana stands in 2017.{{cite journal |last1=Chua |first1=M. A. H. |last2=Lim |first2=K. K. P. |name-list-style=amp |year=2017 |title=Spotted Linsang Prionodon pardicolor at Nam Et - Phou Louey National Biodiversity Conservation Area, Lao |journal=Southeast Asia Vertebrate Records |issue=2017 |pages=5–6 |url=https://www.ecologyasia.com/pdf/2017/seavr2017-003(p005-006).pdf}}
Ecology and behaviour
Taxonomy
The Asiatic linsangs (Prionodon) are not, as was traditionally thought, members of the Viverridae (which does include the African linsangs), and may instead be the closest living relatives of the family Felidae. They have been placed in their own family, the Prionodontidae.{{cite journal |author1=Gaubert, P. |author2=Veron, G. |date=2003 |title=Exhaustive sample set among Viverridae reveals the sister-group of felids: the linsangs as a case of extreme morphological convergence within Feliformia |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B |volume=270 |issue=1532 |pages=2523–2530 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2003.2521 |pmid=14667345 |pmc=1691530 |url=http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/mvpsg/pdf/Biblio/Gaubert_Veron_2003.pdf |access-date=2019-01-31 |archive-date=2005-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050302185702/http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/sgs/mvpsg/pdf/Biblio/Gaubert_Veron_2003.pdf |url-status=dead }}
In 2004, Cytochrome b gene sequencing data changed the opinion of having Prionodon within the Viverrinae subfamily. Genetic data indicate that the similarities between Asiatic and African linsangs are due to convergence.{{cite journal |last1=Gaubert |first1=P. |last2=Tranier |first2=M. |last3=Delmas |first3=A.-S. |last4=Colyn |first4=M. |last5=Veron |first5=G. |title=First molecular evidence for reassessing phylogenetic affinities between genets (Genetta) and the enigmatic genet-like taxa Osbornictis, Poiana and Prionodon (Carnivora, Viverridae) |journal=Zoologica Scripta |date=2004 |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=117–129 |doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2004.00140.x}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Carnivora|P.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1344102}}
Category:Mammals of Southeast Asia
Category:Least concern biota of Asia