Genet

Genet

Genet
Temporal range: Pliocene–Recent
Common genet Genetta genetta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Viverridae
Subfamily: Viverrinae
Genus: Genetta
Cuvier, 1816
Type species
Viverra genetta
Species

See text.

Genets are Old World mammals. They are viverrids, in the same family as civet cats. They are feliform carnivores of the family Viverridae.

The closest relatives of genets are the civets, linsangs, fossa, and mongooses.[1] Almost all species are in the genus Genetta.[2] The common genet, Genetta genetta, is the only viverrid living in Europe.[3] Other species live in Africa. Fossils of the genus have been found from the Pliocene.[4]

Genet in Botswana at night

Genets have long tails, about one to one and a half times the length of their bodies.[1] These longs tails are a counterweight which helps them keep their balance as they leap from tree limb to tree limb.[5] They are not strictly terrestrial, and spend much of their time in trees.[5] Genets have semi-retractable claws, which they use for climbing and holding prey, but not for fighting.[6]

Genets are highly agile creatures, with quick reflexes and exceptional climbing skills, and are the only viverrids that are able to stand bipedally. They are able to walk, trot, run, climb up and down trees, and jump.[5]

They often feed on small mammals, such as rodents, shrews, and bats.[6][7] Small rodents are captured by the back and killed with a bite at the head, then eaten starting with the head.[4][8] They also eat birds, bird eggs, centipedes, millipedes, scorpions, and various fruits, including figs and olives.

Species

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jakowska, Sophie 2011. Genets. Retrieved September 30, 2011 from http://science.jrank.org/pages/2995/Genets.html Archived 2015-05-08 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ but the aquatic genet is sometimes put in its own genus Osbornictis.
  3. ↑ Galantinho A. & Mira A. 2009. The influence of human, livestock, and ecological features on the occurrence of the genet (Genetta genetta): a case study on Mediterranean farmland. Sakura-mura, Iboraki, Japan: Ecological Research (Ecological Society of Japan) 24, 671-685.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Larivière, Serge; Calzada Samperio, Javier (26 December 2001). "Genetta genetta" (PDF). Mammalian Species. 680. New York: American Society of Mammalogists: 1–2. doi:10.1644/1545-1410(2001)680<0001:gg>2.0.co;2. S2CID 198968676. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Wemmer, Christen M. (1977). Comparative ethology of the large spotted genet (Genetta genetta) and some related viverrids (PDF). Washington: Smithsonian Institutional Press. p. 6/13.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Genet. African Wildlife Foundation. Retrieved 2011-11-26. http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/genet
  7. ↑ Virgos, Emilio; Llorente, M. & Cortes Y. 1999. Geographical variation in genet (Genetta genetta L) diet: a literature review. Mammal Review, 29(2), 117-126., p. 117.
  8. ↑ Delibes de Castro, Miguel (1974). "Sobre alimentación y biología de la gineta (Genetta genetta L.) en España". Doñana: Acta Vertebrata. 1. Seville: Estación Biológica de Doñana.

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