Animal Info - Tainguen Civet

Viverra tainguensis

Status: Not Yet Rated

1. Profile
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Weight, Habitat, Diet, Behavior, Social Organization)
5. References

Profile

The Tainguen civet is a small carnivore that was first recorded by scientists in 1996. It is the newest member of the genus of Oriental civets. Specimens collected so far have weighed 3 - 7.5 kg (6.6 - 16.5 lb). The Tainguen civet has been found in moist primary tropical forest in the valley of a small brook. It is terrestrial and nocturnal. Oriental civets in general are solitary and have been known to eat a wide variety of food, including small mammals, birds, snakes, frogs, insects, eggs, fruit, and roots.

The Tainguen civet was first described by scientists in 1996 from the Tainguen Plateau in Gialai Province, Vietnam. It has subsequently been found in other locations in Vietnam from Tonkin in the North to South Annam in the South.

Tidbits

*** Oriental civets are one of the sources of "civet", a substance used in the production of perfume.

*** The scientific name selected for this species, Viverra tainguensis, refers to the Tainguen Plateau in Vietnam where it was originally found. This follows the recent custom of naming newly identified mammal species for geographic locations near where they were first found. Such species include: the Truong Son muntjac, named Muntiacus truongsonensis for the Truong Son (formerly "Annamite") range of mountains where it was found in Vietnam; the saola, named Pseudoryx nghetinhensis for the two Vietnamese provinces Nghe An and Ha Tinh; the giant muntjac, named Megamuntiacus vuquangensis for the Vu Quang Nature Reserve in Vietnam; and the leaf muntjac, named Muntiacus putaoensis for the town, Putao, nearest to where it was found in Myanmar. (Amato et al. 1999, Rozhnov & Pham Trong Anh 1999, Wikramanayake 1999)

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

As of 2004, the Tainguen civet has not yet been assessed by the IUCN.

Countries Where the Tainguen Civet Is Currently Found:

1999: Occurs in Vietnam. (Rozhnov & Pham Trong Anh 1999)

History of Distribution:

The Tainguen civet is the newest identified member of the genus of Oriental civets. It was first described by scientists in 1996 from the northern part of Tainguen Plateau in Gialai Province, Vietnam. It has also been found in other Vietnamese provinces including Langson, Bacgiang (formerly Habak), Nghean and Daclac. Thus its known range extends from Tonkin in the North to South Annam in the South. (Rozhnov & Pham Trong Anh 1999)

Data on Biology and Ecology

Weight:

Two specimens have weighed 3 kg (6.6 lb) and 7.5 kg (16.5 lb) (Rozhnov & Pham Trong Anh 1999).

Habitat:

The Tainguen civet has been collected from moist primary tropical forest in the valley of a small brook (Rozhnov & Pham Trong Anh 1999).

Diet:

Oriental civets generally eat a wide variety of food, including small mammals, birds, snakes, frogs, insects, eggs, fruit, and roots (Nowak 1999).

Behavior:

The Tainguen civet is terrestrial and nocturnal.

Social Organization:

Oriental civets are usually solitary.

References

Amato et al. 1999, Nowak 1999, Rozhnov & Pham Trong Anh 1999, Wikramanayake 1999

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Last modified: January 18, 2005;