Gorse cat fur

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kleinspot and Großfleck genet cats
Portrait with gorse cat collar (1620)

Genet skins were as jennets traded (Genotten) (not to be confused with Genottekatze, a name for the fur of Schwärzlingsform the domestic cat, see cat fur ). Zoologically, the gorse cat belongs to the civet family. In the tobacco trade , a distinction was not always made between the individual types of civet fur ; other types were also traded as Genetten at the beginning of the 20th century.

The gorse cat is still found in Europe in some areas of the Mediterranean , including southern France, the Pyrenees Peninsula and Syria , and also in Africa from Senegambia and Abyssinia to Cape Country .

The body is very elongated, the head is small and pointed. The ears are shell-shaped; the legs are quite short for a cat. The head body length is about 50 to 60 centimeters, the tail is 40 to 50 centimeters long. The hair is of medium length, dense and smooth, but mostly brittle and somewhat flat. The color is yellowish-gray or brownish-gray with mostly four to five rows of dark, chestnut brown or red-yellow spots (rosettes) along the sides. The head and neck are also drawn similarly by spots and stripes. Some species have an erect back mane. The tail is alternately ringed light and dark (white to black). Some subspecies differ in individual characteristics from this general description. Details about the hair change do not seem to be known.

The durability coefficient for clothing made from gorse cat fur is given as 20 to 30 percent. When the fur types are divided into the hair fineness classes silky, fine, medium-fine, coarse and hard, the gorse cat hair is classified as medium-fine.

The skins, which have always been in small quantities compared to other types of fur, were usually processed into trimmings and accessories before the species was placed under protection, or jackets, coats and trimmings as well as blankets if there were enough skins.

The Kleinfleck gorse cat is now strictly protected as a European species under the Federal Species Protection Ordinance.

Subspecies

A distinction is made zoologically:

  • The small spotted genet lives with several subspecies in Spain , Portugal , in Africa on both sides of the Sahara as well as in the south of the Arabian Peninsula ( Yemen and Oman ), the southern small spotted gorse in South Africa and Namibia. With a head body length of about 50 centimeters and a tail length of about 45 centimeters, it is about the size of a house cat, but like all gorse cats, more elongated. The fur has a gray-brown basic color, on which black spots are arranged in longitudinal rows. The tail is quite long, bushy and banded in black. The muzzle is pointed, the legs short and the ears large. Due to the large distribution area and the frequency of the species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) regards it as not endangered (“Least Concern”).
  • The southern gorse cat is common in southern Africa ( South Africa and Lesotho ). It has remarkably short legs and a long tail. The head body length is 46 to 58 centimeters in males and 42 to 56 centimeters in females, the tail is up to 46 cm long. The upper side of the body is yellowish-white to gray in color, the underside gray to white-gray. A black stripe (eel line) runs down the middle of the back. On the sides of the body, the stripes dissolve into a diminishing, dark pattern of spots. The tail has 7 to 8 dark rings, the tip of the tail is black. The face is drawn like a mask. No significant hazards are known. As its range is also relatively large, it seems to be relatively common and can be found regularly in protected areas, the southern gorse cat is classified as not endangered by IUCN ("Least Concern").
  • The Pardelgenette occurs from Senegal via Mali and Burkina Faso to Ghana . It is a strongly built genet with short, rough fur. This is yellowish-gray to pale or sand-gray on the upper side. The broad, dark line on the middle of the back begins behind the shoulders and extends to the base of the tail, which lacks the back crest that is characteristic of many cat species. The back spots are dark brown or reddish, elongated, angular and bordered by dark rings. The spots in the two upper rows are arranged relatively evenly and about as wide as the eel line, downwards the spots become smaller and more irregular. The face wears a clearly defined dark mask between light drawing elements. The tail has 6 to 7 dark rings, the tip of the tail is light. The head body length is given as 41 to 55 centimeters for males and 41 to 53 centimeters for females. The tail length is 39 to 49 centimeters in males and 42 to 45 cm in females. Due to the relatively wide distribution and occurrence in different habitats, the IUCN classifies the leopard genette as harmless ("Least Concern").
Genet fur cape in the Iziko South African Museum
  • The Großfleck gorse cat is similar to the southern Großfleck gorse cat. It is common in large parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Male animals reach a length of 44 to 52 centimeters and females 41 to 50 centimeters. The tail length is about the same in both sexes and ranges from 39.5 to 54 centimeters. The species has a very short-haired coat that can vary greatly in color. The basic color ranges from pale yellow and sandy brown to red-brown to gray-yellow, the belly is white-gray to pale yellow. The body has the typical drawing of dark stripes and spots for gorse cats. The spots are black to dark red-brown and vary in size and shape, they usually do not merge into one another. The neck stripes are well developed and the color of the central line along the spine, which runs from the shoulder to the base of the tail, corresponds to the color of the spots. The hair on the line is short and does not form a back crest along the spine. The tail has a ring pattern with seven to nine light and dark rings, with the proportion of light rings making up about 50 to 75 percent of the width of the dark rings. The tip of the tail is dark. The hind and front legs are clearly spotted, the rear area of ​​the hind paws is covered with thick dark hair. The face is also clearly drawn. It has a well-developed, dark mask and a dark line in the area of ​​the snout and white spots below and above the eyes. Due to the large distribution area, the occurrence in different habitats and the current lack of serious threats, the IUCN classifies the species as not endangered ("Least Concern").
  • The giant gorse lives in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda. It is a large gorse cat with a head body length of 55 to 60 centimeters, a tail length of 41.5 to 49 centimeters. The basic color of the fur is yellowish to ocher-white on the top, paler on the underside. The species is densely spotted black on the flanks and back. The fur has a dark back line, the hairs of which form a back crest, and a pair of broad neck strips. The face is characterized by a black mask and two white eye spots. The tail is curled, with the wide black rings being interrupted by one of the six narrower, pale rings. The width of the pale rings in the center of the tail is less than 20 percent of the dark rings. The tip of the tail is black, the legs are dark brown. The sexes hardly differ in size and color. The giant gorse is classified as safe by the IUCN ("Least Concern").
  • The serval gorse is common in central and eastern Africa (from Nigeria to Kenya ). The fur is gray to ocher in color and has large black spots. A dark, interrupted line of eel runs down the middle of the back. The top three rows of spots are relatively even, downwards the spots become smaller and are more irregularly distributed. The neck and face are hardly spotted, the face wears a black mask between white spots arranged in pairs. The tail has 8 to 12 narrow, light rings, which alternate with significantly wider dark stripes, the tip of the tail is light. The length of the head is 49 to 51 cm in males and 44.5 to 49.5 cm in females. Due to the wide distribution and occurrence in different habitats, the IUCN classifies the serval genet as harmless ("Least Concern").
  • The Angola genet is native to southern Africa in a strip from Angola to Mozambique . She is about the size of a cat. The fur is covered with numerous black spots on a dark to reddish-gray background, which merge into a striped pattern of five parallel lines on each side of the body on the neck and back. The pattern of spots can continue up to the legs, the belly is lighter and unspotted. There is a hair comb about 6 centimeters high along the spine. The tail is ringed light and black; it is more densely hairy than other gorse cats. Very dark or black specimens are not uncommon. Because of its relatively wide distribution and the apparently no greater endangerment, the species is not regarded as endangered (“least concern”).
  • The crested gorse or Niger genette inhabits a small area in Nigeria and Cameroon . The basic color of the upper side of the body is yellowish-brown to ocher, the shoulders and the middle of the back have the darker tones. The spots are dark brown to black and arranged in longitudinal rows. The spots in the top rows are arranged relatively evenly; the spots become smaller and more irregular towards the bottom. A dark line of longer hair runs between the shoulder and the base of the tail. The face shows a black mask between pairs of white spots. The proportion of light tail rings is 50 to 75 percent, the tip of the tail is light gray. The head body length is 49 to 62 centimeters. In 2008 the IUCN classified Genetta cristata as endangered ("Vulnerable").
  • The Bourlon-Genette lives in a small area in Guinea. It reaches a head body length of 49.5 centimeters, the tail length is 41 centimeters. The fur is short and rough. The species corresponds in its appearance to the Pardelgenette , but has a grayer basic color with very dark spots. These are elongated and partially merge with one another. The neck stripes are clearly defined, the dark line along the spine is broad and begins directly behind the shoulders. The tail has five to seven light rings and is at least half dark. The front and rear legs are dark and clearly spotted. The upper part of the front feet is spotted, the rear feet are not stained. The face is also clearly drawn. It has a well-developed, dark mask and a dark line in the area of ​​the snout and white spots below and above the eyes. The IUCN classifies the species as low endangered ("Near threatened").
  • The Ethiopian genet is native to Ethiopia and neighboring countries ( Somalia and Sudan ). It reaches a head body length of 41 to 43 centimeters, the tail length is 38 to 40 centimeters. The fur is short and soft. The species has a creamy white to yellow basic color, the belly is pale gray. The animals in the lowlands are lighter and paler in color than the animals in the highlands of the distribution area. The back spots are elongated and merge into five stripes. The spots on the lower flanks are also elongated and form stripes rather than spots. The neck stripes are clearly defined and merge into two dark lines in the neck. The dark back line is clearly laid out and interrupted by a light line; the hair on the center line does not form a comb. The tail has seven to nine dark rings, the tip of the tail is black. Front and rear legs are light gray with dark spots, the feet are not spotted. The face is also clearly drawn. It shows a well-formed, dark mask and a gray line around the muzzle, as well as white spots below and above the eyes. The IUCN classifies the species as not endangered ("Least Concern").
Gorse cats Liberia , 1907 (from left to right):
   1 and 2: Liberia-Genette
   3: West African Linsang
   4: King 's Genette (possibly extinct)
  • The Haussa genet lives in the West African savannah region from Senegal to Lake Chad . With a head-to-trunk length of 38 to 45 centimeters, the Haussa genet is one of the smaller representatives of its genus. Their basic color is yellowish-beige to light brown, the spots are often reddish-orange in color. The eel line is usually recognizable, it is usually divided lengthways by light hairs and is never colored black. The spots are comparatively small, are relatively close to one another and are arranged in a line on the back, while at the back they partially flow together. The face and front of the body are not spotted. The back hair is not extended to the comb. The tail is curled, the dark parts become larger and larger towards the rear, a total of 8 to 9 rings or half-rings can be seen. The tail end is blackish. Due to its relatively wide distribution area and occurrence in different habitats, the species was classified as harmless by the IUCN in 2008 ("Least Concern").
  • The Liberia Genette is native to West Africa (from Guinea to Ghana ). It is a relatively slender type of genet. It reaches a head body length of 47 to 51 centimeters. The tail length is 46 to 49.5 cm. The fur is quite dense and soft, the basic color is yellowish-ocher to yellowish-gray on the top, yellowish-gray to yellowish-brown underneath. The legs are dark brown. The pattern of spots is characterized by dark to reddish-brown spots that are quite large on the body flanks, but smaller on the legs, stomach and neck. A very dark stripe on the back offers a striking contrast to this overall brownish pattern. The long tail is ringed white and black, with eight to nine white rings each separated by a wider black ring. The tip of the tail is white. The face has dark areas on the muzzle and white spots around the eyes. The ears are relatively long. The sexes hardly differ from each other. The species is classified as threatened by the IUCN ("Vulnerable").
  • The water civette is one of the few crawling cats whose fur is not provided with stripes or spots. It is rusty brown in color, with the ears, legs and long tail being darker, dark brown or black. It has white spots between the eyes and on the side of the muzzle. The body is elongated, the limbs are relatively short. In contrast to the closely related genet cats , the soles are hairless. The head body length is around 45 centimeters, plus a tail that is around 35 centimeters long. The degree of danger to aquatic species is unknown. They are considered to be quite common in certain areas, especially since their area of ​​distribution is relatively sparsely populated.

History, trade

Burial Chamber of Heje, Egypt. Tribute-bringing Africans, the third from the right with a gorse cat skin

In an illustration from around 1358-1350 BC. BC are shown on a wall painting in the burial chamber of Heje Afrikaner who bring various kinds of tribute gifts. Two of them have fur over their arm, one of which can be recognized as a genet cat fur (see illustration).

The use of gorse cat skins is also known for the 6th century AD. Isidore of Seville (* around 560; † 636), Albertus Magnus (* around 1200; † 1280) and Vinzenz von Beauvais (* between 1184 and 1194; † around 1264) mentioned fur, which was highly valued at the time . It was used in the Middle Ages up to the beginning of today's fur fashion around 1900 for inner linings and trimmings, probably almost exclusively for men's clothing. In 732, when Karl Martell defeated the Saracens near Tours, a number of clothes lined with this skin were captured . Probably with the distribution of these clothes, the order of the gorse cat was founded under Charlemagne , whose members were the first princes. As recently as 1891, apart from the use for inner linings, only processing into blankets was mentioned.

In some areas of origin, the skins were also used as a part of clothing ( aprons ), but in other places the animals were kept as pets to ward off mice and rats, and catching for fur was not welcome.

Gorse cat skins were only a third of the skins used by civet cats in the early 19th century. The London fur trade therefore mixed European gorse cat skins with African and Asian civet skins. Plucked genettes (also known as civettes), from which the upper hair had been removed, resulted in “pretty sets for all kinds of needs”.

The raw hides are usually delivered in a rounded shape, mostly with the leather on the outside.

processing

In 1965, the amount of fur used for a coat made of genette cat fur (Genette) was given as 20 to 30 fur (so-called coat “body” ). It was based on a board with a length of 112 centimeters and an average width of 150 centimeters and an additional sleeve section. This corresponds roughly to a fur material for a slightly exhibited coat of clothing size 46 from 2014. The maximum and minimum fur numbers can result from the different sizes of the sexes of the animals, the age groups and their origin. Depending on the type of fur, the three factors have different effects.

The fur processing corresponds to the processing of the wild cat fur .

Numbers and facts

Gorse cat fur, hair and leather side
  • 1911 was Emil Brass the price of a genet fur with 1.50 to 2 marks to, in the year 1925 with 2 to 4 marks.
  • In 1914 , the dressing (tanning) of cat fur cost 18 or 40 pfennigs in Germany, depending on the type, genets cost 18 pfennigs the fur.
  • In the 1923/24 season , 5,000 gorse cat skins ("Genettkatzen") came from Africa for international trade.
  • In 1949 , the “Pelzlexikon” stated the total annual amount of gorse cat skins as 10,000, which “are then used for trimmings, trimmings, and even types for fur coats”.
  • In 1988 it was said for gorse cat skins: “Fur attack insignificant. Deliveries even lower than for the civet, exact figures were not available. "

See also

Commons : gorse cat skins  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Genet Fur Clothing  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

annotation

  1. ↑ The specified comparative values ​​( coefficients ) are the result of comparative tests by furriers and tobacco shops with regard to the degree of apparent wear and tear. The figures are not unambiguous; in addition to the subjective observations of durability in practice, there are also influences from fur dressing and fur finishing as well as numerous other factors in each individual case . More precise information could only be determined on a scientific basis. The most durable types of fur according to practical experience were set to 100 percent.
  2. ↑ The information for a body was only given to make it easier to compare the types of fur. In fact, bodies were only made for small (up to about muskrat size ) and common types of fur, and also for pieces of fur . The following dimensions for a coat body were taken as a basis: body = height 112 cm, width below 160 cm, width above 140 cm, sleeves = 60 × 140 cm.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d Christian Franke / Johanna Kroll: Jury Fränkel's Rauchwaren-Handbuch 1988/89 . 10. revised and supplemented new edition, Rifra-Verlag Murrhardt, p. 122.
  2. ↑ a b c H. Werner: The furrier art . Publishing house Bernh. Friedr. Voigt, Leipzig 1914, pp. 110, 159.
  3. ↑ a b Heinrich Dathe , Paul Schöps, with the assistance of 11 specialists: Fur Animal Atlas . VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag Jena, 1986, pp. 191–192.
  4. ↑ Paul Schöps; H. Brauckhoff, Stuttgart; K. Häse, Leipzig, Richard König , Frankfurt / Main; W. Straube-Daiber, Stuttgart: The durability coefficients of fur skins . In: Das Pelzgewerbe , Volume XV, New Series, 1964, No. 2, Hermelin Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, Berlin, Frankfurt / Main, Leipzig, Vienna, pp. 56–58.
  5. ↑ Paul Schöps, Kurt Häse: The fineness of the hair - the fineness classes . In: Das Pelzgewerbe Vol. VI / New Series, 1955 No. 2, Hermelin-Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, Leipzig, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, p. 40 (note: fine (partly silky); medium-fine (partly fine); coarser (medium-fine to coarse)).
  6. ↑ a b Fritz Schmidt : The book of the fur animals and pelts . FC Mayer Verlag, Munich 1970, pp. 143-144.
  7. ↑ Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Genetta ( Memento of January 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) . In: Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed). Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i IUCN, List of Endangered Species, Search .
  9. ^ A b AP Jennings & G. Veron (2009): Family Viverridae . In: DE Wilson. & RA Mittermeier (eds.) Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  10. ↑ G. Mills & L. Hes (1999): Mammals of Southern Africa. An illustrated encyclopedia . - Könemann, ISBN 3-8290-3610-8 .
  11. ↑ Genetta maculata in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.2. Posted by: P. Gaubert, A. Dunham, M. Hoffmann, 2008. Retrieved April 24, 2012
  12. ^ J. Jennings AP & G. Veron (2009): Family Viverridae . In: DE Wilson. & RA Mittermeier (eds.) Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  13. ↑ a b c d e P. Jennings, G. Veron: Family Viverridae (Civets, Genet and Oyans). In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 .
  14. ^ A b Philippe Gaubert, Peter J. Taylor, Geraldine Veron: Integrative taxonomy and phylogenetic systematics of the genets (Carnivora, Viverridae, Genetta): a new classification of the most speciose carnivoran genus in africa. (PDF; 144 kB) In: BA Huber, BJ Sinclair, K.-H. Lamp African Biodiversity: Molecules, Organisms, Ecosystems. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium of Tropical Biology, Museum Koenig , Bonn 2005.
  15. ↑ P. Jennings, G. Veron: Family Viverridae (Civets, Genet and Oyans) . In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 , (p. 224).
  16. ^ J. Jennings AP & G. Veron (2009): Family Viverridae . In: DE Wilson. & RA Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  17. ^ Paula White: Genetta angolensis in the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  18. ↑ genetta angolensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: P. Gaubert, J. Crawford Cabral, M. Hoffmann, 2008. Accessed January 15, 2015.
  19. ^ J. Jennings AP & G. Veron (2009): Family Viverridae . In: DE Wilson. & RA Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores . Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
  20. ↑ a b D. R. Rosevear (1974): The carnivores of West Africa. - Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History) .
  21. ↑ a b c P. Jennings, G. Veron: Family Viverridae (Civets, Genet and Oyans). In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 , (p. 221).
  22. ↑ a b c P. Jennings, G. Veron: Family Viverridae (Civets, Genet and Oyans). In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 , (p. 215).
  23. ^ J. Kingdon (2004): The Kingdon Pocket Guide to African Mammals . - Princeton Pocket Guides, p. 166.
  24. ^ AP Jennings, G. Veron: Family Viverridae (Civets, Genets and Oyans). In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 .
  25. ↑ Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0801857899 .
  26. ↑ Max Bachrach: Fur. A Practical Treatise. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New York 1936. p. 224. (English).
  27. ^ Lorenz Oken, Friedrich August Walchner: General natural history for all estates: Thierreich; 4, 3: mammals 2 . Volume 7, Issue 3 (Google eBook), p. 1537. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  28. ↑ Paul Cubaeus, "practical furriers in Frankfurt am Main": The whole of Skinning. Thorough textbook with everything you need to know about merchandise, finishing, dyeing and processing of fur skins. A. Hartleben's Verlag, Vienna, Pest, Leipzig 1891, p. 34.
  29. ↑ www.retrobibliothek.de: Meyers Konversationslexikon . Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig and Vienna, 4th edition, 1885–1892, p. 893. Retrieved January 15, 2015
  30. ↑ Paul Schöps among others: The material requirement for fur clothing . In: Das Pelzgewerbe Vol. XVI / New Series 1965 No. 1, Hermelin-Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, Berlin et al., Pp. 7-12.
  31. ↑ Emil Brass : From the realm of fur . 1st edition, published by the "Neue Pelzwaren-Zeitung and Kürschner-Zeitung", Berlin 1911, pp. 421-422.
  32. ^ A b Emil Brass : From the realm of fur . 2nd improved edition, publisher of the "Neue Pelzwaren-Zeitung and Kürschner-Zeitung", Berlin 1925, pp. 436, 508.
  33. ↑ Alexander Tuma: Pelz-Lexikon. Fur and rough goods. XVIII. Tape. Verlag Alexander Tuma, Vienna 1949. Keyword “Ginsterkatze”.