African civet: Difference between revisions

The African civet is primarily [[nocturnal]] and spends the day sleeping in dense vegetation, but wakes up at sunset. It is a [[wikt:solitary|solitary]] [[mammal]] with a unique coloration: the black and white blotches covering its coarse [[pelage]] and rings on the tail are an effective [[Crypsis|cryptic]] pattern. The black bands surrounding its eyes closely resemble those of the [[raccoon]]. Other distinguishing features are its disproportionately large hindquarters and its erectile dorsal crest. It is an [[omnivorous]] generalist, preying on small vertebrates, [[invertebrate]]s, eggs, carrion, and vegetable matter. It is one of the few carnivores capable of eating toxic invertebrates such as termites and millipedes.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Richardson |first1=P. R. K. |last2=Levitan |first2=C. D. |date=1994 |title=Tolerance of Aardwolves to Defense Secretions of ''Trinervitermes trinervoides'' |url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/75/1/84/860853 |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=84–91 |doi=10.2307/1382238|jstor=1382238 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals |edition=Second |last=Kingdon |first=J. |date=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London, New Delhi, New York, Sydney |isbn=978-1-4729-2531-2 |chapter=African Civet ''Civettictis civetta'' |pages=409–410 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p1hMCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA409}}</ref> It detects prey primarily by smell and sound rather than by sight. It is the [[Monotypiconly taxon|soleliving member]] of the [[Genus (biology)|genus]] '''''Civettictis'''''.<ref name=Ray>{{cite journal |author=Ray, J. C. |year=1995 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-488-01-0001.pdf |title=''Civettictis civetta'' |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=488 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.2307/3504320 |jstor=3504320 |s2cid=253932202 |access-date=2011-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515034023/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-488-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=2013-05-15 |url-status=dead}}</ref>