Gold musang

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Gold musang
Paradoxurus zeylonensis 2.jpg

Gold musang ( Paradoxurus zeylonensis )

Systematics
Order : Predators (Carnivora)
Subordination : Feline (Feliformia)
Family : Crawling cats (Viverridae)
Subfamily : Palm Roller (Paradoxurinae)
Genre : Musangs ( Paradoxurus )
Type : Gold musang
Scientific name
Paradoxurus zeylonensis
( Pallas in Schreber , 1778)

The golden musang ( Paradoxurus zeylonensis ) is one of five types of musangs within the crawling cats . It is endemic to the island of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean. The population of the species is small, has meanwhile become heavily fragmented due to the ongoing destruction of forests and is continuing to decline. The gold musang is therefore classified by the IUCN as endangered ("vulnerable").

features

It is a small crawl cat with a beige, golden, red or dark brown fur. The face is now and then lighter and the tail a bit yellowish. The tip of the tail is often yellow or whitish. The head-trunk length is between 50 and 58 cm, the tail is between 43.7 and 52.5 cm long and the animals reach a weight of about 3.6 kg. The hair on the back of the neck grows against the grain towards the head instead of the rear end. The bit has the following dental formula : .

distribution

Distribution area of ​​the gold musang

The gold musang is endemic to Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean and lives there in natural forest areas. It has been detected in Uda Walawe National Park , Sinharaja Forest , Wasgomuwa and Yala National Park .

Way of life

The gold musang lives almost exclusively on trees ( arboreal ) and moves mainly on larger branches. The animals are solitary and nocturnal and use hollow branches and occasionally cavities under house roofs near the trees as a place to sleep. They feed on fruits like mangoes , coffee , melons , pineapples, and bananas, as well as small mammals, birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, and insects. In the breeding season in October and November, the females have two or three young.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Paradoxurus zeylonensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008 Posted by: D. Muddappa, C. Wozencraft, P. Yonzon, A. Jennings, G. Veron, 2008. Accessed December 29, 2011th
  2. ↑ a b c d Andrew P. Jennings and Geraldine Veron: Family Viverridae (Civets, genets and oyans). 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 , p. 230.
  3. ↑ Colin P. Groves, Channa Rajapaksha, Kelum Manemandra-Arachchi: The taxonomy of the endemic golden palm civet of Sri Lanka . In: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 155, 2009, pp. 238-251. doi : 10.1111 / j.1096-3642.2008.00451.x . ( Full text ; PDF; 760 kB)
  4. ^ Kristen Schweighoefer: Paradoxurus zeylonensis in the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved December 29, 2011.

Web links

Commons : Goldmusang ( Paradoxurus zeylonensis )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files