Ictonyx

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Ictonyx
Zorilla (Ictonyx striatus), specimen in the Natural History Museum of Genoa. The animals are actually colored black and white. With this preparation, the black hair is lightened by long exposure to light.

Zorilla ( Ictonyx striatus ), specimen in the Natural History Museum of Genoa. The animals are actually colored black and white. With this preparation, the black hair is lightened by long exposure to light.

Systematics
Order : Predators (Carnivora)
Subordination : Canine (Caniformia)
Superfamily : Marten relatives (Musteloidea)
Family : Marten (Mustelidae)
Subfamily : Ictonychinae
Genre : Ictonyx
Scientific name
Ictonyx
Kaup , 1835
Distribution areas of the two Ictonyx species, dark green - Libyan striped weasel , yellow - Zorilla

Ictonyx is a genus of carnivore livingin Africa from the marten family(Mustelidae), where it belongs to the subfamily Ictonychinae . There are two kinds:

  • The Zorilla ( Ictonyx striatus ) comes across Africa south of the Sahara before except for the West and Central African rainforests.
  • The Libyan weasel ( Ictonyx libyca ) lives in dry areas on the edge of the Sahara.

features

Like most martens, Ictonyx species have an elongated body with short legs. The Zorilla reaches a head body length of 28 to 38 cm and has a 16.5 to 28 cm long tail. Males weigh 800 to 1200 g, females are significantly lighter with a weight of 420 to 750 g. The Libyan striped weasel reaches a head body length of 20.7 to 26 cm, has a 11.4 to 18 cm long tail and reaches a weight of 200 to 600 g. Male weasels are slightly larger than the females. Both species stand out due to their high-contrast coloring with white stripes on a black background. The snouts of both species are short. The bit consists of 34 teeth and forms following dental formula : .

Way of life

Ictonyx species are solitary and nocturnal. They feed on rodents, birds, small reptiles, bird and reptile eggs, and insects. The females have one to three young after a gestation period of 36 or 37 days.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Serge Larivière & Andrew P. Jennings: Genus Ictonyx , pp. 637-638 in Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier : Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 1 Carnivores. Lynx Editions, 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1