THE MASKED PALM CIVET

The masked palm civet or gem-faced civet (Paguma larvata) is a civet species native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is classified by IUCN in 2008 as Least Concern as it occurs in many protected areas, is tolerant to some degree of habitat modification, and widely distributed with presumed large populations that are unlikely to be declining.^[1]
The genus Paguma was first named and described by John Edward Gray in 1831. All described forms are regarded as a single species.^[3]
In recent times, masked palm civets were considered to be a likely vector of SARS.^[4]

Characteristics

 



In morphology the masked palm civet resembles other palm civets, but does not have spots or stripes. Its fur is reddish to grey, and it has a black and white facial mask. Its tail is more than two-third the length of head and body. It has three mammae.^[5]
The mask consists of a prominent white stripe stretching from nose to forehead (sometimes extends farther but has greatly reduced thickness) that halves a black mask that extends laterally to the far edges of the cheeks and caudally up the forehead, past the ears, and down the back of the neck before stopping just under the shoulder blades. The eyes are surrounded by white fur that can vary from faint, incomplete outlines to well-defined blotches. The lips, chin, and throat are white. In some, white stripes of fur, comparable to sideburns on humans due to shape and location, curve up from the throat. These curves vary in thickness and have ends that terminate either in small blotches at the ear base or large blotches that surround the base of both darkly furred ears.^{[citation needed]}
No matter which coat it sports, masked palm civet's feet are always dark, often black, and the melanism usually extends partway up the legs in varying distances and intensities depending on the individual. The end of a masked palm civet's tail is sometimes darker than the majority of its coat. This difference in pigmentation can vary from a few shades darker than its coat to solid black and can cover a fourth to half of the tail.^{[citation needed]}
The main body varies from 51 to 76 cm (20 to 28 in) in length, to which is added a tail of 51 to 63 cm (20 to 25 in). It weighs between 3.6 and 6 kg (8 and 13.2 lb).^{[citation needed]}

 

 

Distribution and habitat

 

The masked palm civet is distributed from the northern parts of the Indian Subcontinent, especially the Himalayas, ranging eastwards across Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam to China. It is also found on Borneo, Sumatra, Taiwan, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.^[1] It has been recorded in both evergreen and deciduous forest, and in disturbed habitat.^[6] It also inhabits fragmented forest habitats, albeit at reduced density.^[1]
It is also found in Japan, where genetic studies indicate that it is an introduced species with multiple introductions over the centuries, at least two of which are from Taiwan.^[7]

 

 

Ecology and behaviour

 

The masked palm civet is a nocturnal solitary predator that is occasionally active during the day.^[6][8][9] It is partly arboreal.^[10]
When alarmed, the animal sprays a secretion from its anal gland against the predator. The spray is similar in function to that of a skunk, and its conspicuousness serves to deter other predators.

Feeding and diet

 

The masked palm civet is an omnivore feeding on rats and birds as well as on fruit such as figs, mangoes, bananas, and leaves.^[10] Scat analysis indicates that they also eat mollusks, arthropods, bark and to a lesser extent snakes and frogs. The composition of the diet varies between seasons and sites.^[11]

 

 

Reproduction

Masked palm civets are polyestrous and their mating behavior is promiscuous.^[12] There are two breeding seasons per year. The female bears up to four young. Masked palm civets are known to reach 15 years of age in captivity.^[10]
Copulation in masked palm civets can last for more than 30 minutes.^[13] Upon completion of copulation, males leave a copulation plug in the female's vaginal tract. The young grow to the size of an adult in about three months.^[14]

Threats

Masked palm civet - Kaeng Krachan National Park

The major threats for the masked palm civet are continued habitat destruction and hunting for bushmeat. It is widely offered in restaurants in southern China and is also eaten in Viet Nam.^[1]

 

 Conservation

 Paguma larvata is protected in Malaysia and China, but not Thailand and Nepal. The population of India is listed on CITES Appendix III.^[1]

 

 

Connection with SARS

 


In parts of China masked palm civets are hunted for their meat and eaten. Inadequate preparation of the meat may have been the cause for the outbreak of SARS.^[4] In May 2003, the SARS virus was isolated in several masked palm civets found in a live-animal market in Guangdong, China. Evidence of virus infection was also detected in other animals including a raccoon dog, and in humans working at the same market.^[15]
In 2006, scientists from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention of the University of Hong Kong and the Guangzhou Centre for Disease Control and Prevention established a direct genetic link between the SARS coronavirus appearing in civets and humans, bearing out claims that the disease had jumped across species.^[16]
A later study revealed that the sequences of many SARS genomes show that the civets' cases of SARS were just one part of the family tree of SARS viruses in humans — probably humans got SARS from bats, then humans gave it to pigs once and to small civets once, and then these small carnivores may have given the disease back to humans once or twice. All the cases of SARS associated with the outbreak appeared to be part of the bat branch of the coronavirus phylogeny.^[17]




 

THE FALCONS

The falcons and caracaras are around 60 species of diurnal birds of prey that make up the family Falconidae. The family is divided into two subfamilies, Polyborinae, which includes the caracaras and forest falcons, and Falconinae, the falcons, kestrels and falconets (Microhierax and Spiziapteryx). They differ from the eagles of Accipitridae, in that falcons kill with their beaks instead of their taloned feet. They have a "tooth" on the side of their beak for this purpose.

Description

Falcons and caracaras are small to medium-sized birds of prey, ranging in size from the black-thighed falconet, which can weigh as little as 35 grams (1.2 oz), to the gyrfalcon, which can weigh as much as 1,735 grams (61.2 oz). They have strongly hooked bills, sharply curved talons and excellent eyesight. The plumage is usually composed of browns, whites, chestnut, black and grey, often with barring of patterning. There is little difference in the plumage of males and females, although a few species have some sexual dimorphism in boldness of plumage.

Distribution and habitat

The family has a cosmopolitan distribution across the world, absent only from the densest forest of central Africa, some remote oceanic islands, the high Arctic and Antarctica. Some species have exceptionally wide ranges, particularly the cosmopolitan peregrine falcon, which ranges from Greenland to Fiji and has the widest natural breeding distribution of any bird. Other species have more restricted distributions, particularly island endemics like the Mauritius kestrel. Most habitat types are occupied, from tundra to rainforest and deserts, although they are generally more birds of open country and even forest species tend to prefer broken forest and forest edges. Some species, mostly in the genus Falco, are fully migratory, with some species summering in Eurasia and wintering entirely in Africa, other species may be partly migratory. The Amur falcon has one of the longest migrations, moving from East Asia to southern Africa.^[1]

Behaviour

Diet and feeding

The laughing falcon is a snake-eating specialist

Falcons and caracaras are carnivores, feeding on birds, small mammals including bats,^[2] reptiles, insects and carrion. In popular imagination the falconids are fast flying predators, and while this is true of the genus Falco and some falconets, other species, particularly the caracaras, are more sedentary in their feeding. The forest falcons of the Neotropics are generalist forest hunters. Several species, particularly the true falcons, will stash food supplies in caches.^[3] They are solitary hunters and pairs guard territories, although they may form large flocks during migration. Some species are specialists, the laughing falcon specialises in snakes, others are more generalist.

Breeding

The red-footed falcon is unusual in being a colonial breeding falcon

The falcons and caracaras are generally solitary breeders, although around 10% of species are colonial, for example the red-footed falcon.^[4] They are monogamous, although some caracaras may also employ alloparenting strategies, where younger birds help adults (usually their parents) in raising the next brood of chicks. Nests are generally not built (except by the caracaras), but are co opted from other birds, for example pygmy falcons nest in the nests of weavers, or on the ledges on cliffs. Around 2–4 eggs are laid, and mostly incubated by the female. Incubation times vary from species to species and are correlated with body size, lasting 28 days in smaller species and up to 35 days in larger species. Chicks fledge after 28–49 days, again varying with size.

Relations with humans

Falcons and caracaras have a complicated relationship with humans. In ancient Egypt they were deified in the form of Horus, the sky and sun god who was the ancestor of the pharaohs. Caracaras also formed part of the legends of the Aztecs, and are today the national emblems of Mexico. Falcons were important in the (formerly often royal) sport of falconry. They have also been persecuted for their predation on game and farm animals, and that persecution has led to the extinction of at least one species, the Guadalupe caracara. Several insular species have declined dramatically, none more so than the Mauritius kestrel, which at one time numbered no more than four birds. Around five species of falcon are considered vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN, including the saker falcon.

Taxonomy and systematics

See also: List of Falconidae

The family Falconidae was introduced by the English zoologist William Elford Leach in a guide to the contents of the British Museum published in 1820.^[5][6]

Families

Traditionally, the raptors were grouped into four families in the single order Falconiformes, but many thought this group to be paraphyletic and not to share a common ancestor to the exclusion of all other birds.
First, multiple lines of evidence in the 1970s and 1980s suggested that the New World vultures Cathartidae were closer related to storks and herons (Ciconiiformes), though more recent place them outside that group as well. Consequently, New World vultures are now often raised to the rank of an independent order Cathartiformes not closely associated with either birds of prey or storks or herons.^[7] In 2007, the American Ornithologists' Union's North American checklist moved Cathartidae back into the lead position in Falconiformes, but with an asterisk that indicates it is a taxon "that is probably misplaced in the current phylogenetic listing but for which data indicating proper placement are not yet available".^[8]
In Europe, it has become common to split the remaining raptors into two: the falcons and caracaras remain in the order Falconiformes (about 60 species in 4 groups), and the remaining 220-odd species (including the Accipitridae – eagles, hawks, Old World vultures, etc.) are put in the separate order Accipitriformes. An unplaced prehistoric family known only from fossils are the Horusornithidae.
In agreement with the split of Falconiformes and Accipitriformes, comparative genome analysis published in 2008 suggested that falcons are more closely related to the parrots and passerines than to other birds including the Accipitridae, so that the traditional Falconiformes are paraphyletic even if the Cathartidae are excluded.^[9] Indeed, a 2011 analysis of transposable element insertions shared between the genomes of falcons, passerines, and parrots, but not present in the genomes of other birds, confirmed that falcons are a sister group of the combined parrot/passerine group, together forming the clade Eufalconimorphae.^[10]

Subfamilies

The clade Falconidae is composed of three main branches: the falconets and true falcons, the caracaras, and the forest falcons. Differences exist between authorities in how these are grouped into subfamilies. Also, the placement of the laughing falcon (Herpetotheres) and the spot-winged falconet (Spiziapteryx) varies.
One common approach uses two subfamilies Polyborinae and Falconinae. The first contains the caracaras, forest falcons, and laughing falcon. All species in this group are native to the Americas.^[11]
The composition of Falconidae is disputed, and Polyborninae is not featured in the American Ornithologists' Union checklists for North and South American birds that are produced by its Classification Committees (NACC and SACC). The Check-list of North American Birds considers the laughing falcon a true falcon (Falconinae) and replaces Polyborinae with Caracarinae and Micrasturinae.^[12] On the other hand, the Check-list of South American Birds classifies all caracaras as true falcons and puts the laughing falcon and forest falcons into the subfamily Herpetotherinae.^[13]
Based on genetic research from the late 1990s to 2015, Boyd^[14] uses three subfamilies. He places the laughing falcon (Herpetotheres) with the forest falcons (Micrastur) into Herpetotherinae (similar to SACC). Caracarinae is separate (similar to NACC), but also contains the spot-winged falconet (Spiziapteryx). The other falcons are placed in Falconinae.
Falconinae, in its traditional classification, contains the falcons, falconets, and pygmy falcons.^[15] Depending on the authority, Falconinae may also include the caracaras and/or the laughing falcon.^[13][16] Boyd further divides the Falconinae into two tribes: Polyhieracini containing the Microhierax falconets, plus Falconini containing the Falco falcons. The pygmy falcon and the white-rumped (pygmy) falcon are split into separate genera (Polyhierax and Neohierax), with the former placed into Polyhieracini and the latter into Falconini.^[14]