{{Short description|Species of carnivore}} {{redirect-distinguish|Fossa (genus)|Fossa (animal)}} {{Speciesbox | name = Malagasy civet | image = Spotted fanaloka (Fossa fossana).jpg | image_caption = at Ranomafana National Park | status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=Hawkins, F. |date=2015 |title=''Fossa fossana'' |volume=2015 |article-number=e.T8668A45197868 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T8668A45197868.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | status2 = CITES_A2 | status2_system = CITES | status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref> | genus = Fossa | parent_authority = Gray, 1864<ref name=itis/> | display_parents = 2 | species = fossana | authority = (Müller, 1776)<ref name=itis>{{ITIS|taxon=''Fossa fossana'' |id=621975|access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref> | range_map = Fossa fossana range.png | range_map_caption = Malagasy civet range<ref name=iucn/> | synonyms = ''Viverra fossana'' Müller, 1776 }}
The '''Malagasy''' or '''striped civet''' ('''''Fossa fossana'''''), also known as the '''fanaloka''' (Malagasy, {{IPA|mg|fə̥ˈnaluk|}}) or '''jabady''',<ref name="GarbuttBradt2008">{{cite book|author1=Nick Garbutt|author2=Hilary Bradt|author3=Derek Schuurman|title=Madagascar Wildlife|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZxbT2uFy3uEC&pg=PA78|year=2008|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-245-3|page=78}}</ref> is an euplerid endemic to Madagascar.<ref name = MSW3>{{MSW3 Carnivora | id = 14000452 | page = 560}}</ref> It is the only species in genus '''''Fossa'''''.
The Malagasy civet is a small mammal, about {{convert|47|cm}} long excluding the tail (which is only about {{convert|20|cm}}). It can weigh {{convert|1.5|to|2.0|kg}}. It is endemic to the tropical forests of Madagascar. Malagasy civets are nocturnal. It eats small vertebrates, insects, aquatic animals, and eggs stolen from birds' nests. The mating season of the Malagasy civet is August to September and the gestation period is three months, ending with the birth of one young. The Malagasy civet is listed as Vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).<ref name=iucn/>
The Malagasy name ''fanaloka'' is related to the Malay word ''pelanduk'' "mousedeer" (via metathesis) likely due to their similar sizes and silhouette.<ref name="2009Blench_etal">{{cite conference |url=https://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Austronesian/Malagasy/Malagasy%20wild%20animal%20names.pdf |title=Faunal names in Malagasy: their etymologies and implications for the prehistory of the East African coast |last1=Blench |first1=Roger M. |author-link1=Roger Blench |last2=Walsh |first2=Martin |year=2009 |conference=Eleventh International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (11 ICAL) |pages=1–31 |location=Aussois, France}}</ref>
==Classification== The Malagasy civet was to be placed in the subfamily Hemigalinae with the banded palm civets and then in its own subfamily, Fossinae, because of similarities with others in the group pointed out by Gregory, but it is now classified as a member of the subfamily Euplerinae, after Pocock pointed out more similarities with that one.<ref name="GoswamiFriscia2010">{{cite book|author1=Anjali Goswami|author2=Anthony Friscia|title=Carnivoran Evolution: New Views on Phylogeny, Form and Function|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPw0C2i8QXkC&pg=PA68|date=29 July 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-48853-2|pages=68–70}}</ref>
==Description== The Malagasy civet is a small mammal, about {{convert|47|cm}} long excluding the tail (which is only about {{convert|20|cm}}). The males can weigh up to {{convert|1.9|kg}}, and the females can weigh up to {{convert|1.75|kg}}. It is the second largest carnivore in Madagascar after the fossa.<ref name=ad/><ref name="Fischer2013">{{cite book|author=Steven Roger Fischer|title=Islands: From Atlantis to Zanzibar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AUSUuauXBkwC&pg=PA66|date=15 February 2013|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-78023-053-5|page=66}}</ref> it may be confused with the small Indian civet (''Viverricula indica'').<ref name="Garbutt2007"/> It has a short coat greyish beige or brown in colour, with dark black horizontal stripes running from head to tail, where the stripes are vertical, wrapping around the bushier tail. The stripes morph into spots near the belly. Its legs are short and very thin.<ref name="Garbutt2007">{{cite book|author=Nick Garbutt|title=Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ftjKjbPKF2oC&pg=PA207|year=2007|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-12550-4|page=209}}</ref>
==Behavior== The Malagasy civet is nocturnal, though sources disagree over whether it is solitary or, unusual among euplerids, lives in pairs. It is not a good climber and frequents ravines. It eats small vertebrates (mammals, small birds, reptiles, and amphibians), insects, aquatic animals, and eggs stolen from birds' nests.<ref name="CorlettPrimack2011">{{cite book|author1=Richard T. Corlett|author2=Richard B. Primack|title=Tropical Rain Forests: An Ecological and Biogeographical Comparison|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KTCVw_RDlLkC&pg=PT136|date=3 March 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-9228-9|page=136}}</ref><ref name=ad/> It is shy and secretive.<ref name="BradtAustin2014">{{cite book|author1=Hilary Bradt|author2=Daniel Austin|title=Madagascar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yeG1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|date=1 July 2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-498-3|page=66}}</ref> Their vocalizations are similar to crying and groaning, as well as a sound similar to ''coq-coq''. Pairs of males and females defend a large area (around {{convert|50|ha}}) as their territory.<ref name="Austin2014">{{cite book|author=Daniel Austin|title=Madagascar Wildlife|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nypFBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA84|date=10 November 2014|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-84162-557-7|page=84}}</ref> In the winter, it may store fat in its tail, which can make up 25% of their weight.<ref name=ad>{{cite web|title=''Fossa fossana''|url=http://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Fossa_fossana.html|website=animaldiversity.org|access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Animals: A Visual Encyclopedia (Second Edition): A Visual Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RyWoBB4-1EYC&pg=PA83|date=19 March 2012|publisher=DK Publishing|isbn=978-0-7566-9896-6|page=83}}</ref> The mating season of the Malagasy civet is August to September and the gestation period is around three months, ending with the birth of one young. The young are rather well-developed, weigh around {{convert|65|to|70|g}}, and are weaned in two to three months, leaving their parents at around one year old. The average lifespan of a Malagasy civet is about 21 years in captivity.<ref name=iucn/><ref name=eol>{{cite web|title=''Fossa fossana''|url=http://eol.org/pages/347437/details|publisher=Encyclopedia of Life|access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="Nowak2005">{{cite book|author=Ronald M. Nowak|title=Walker's Carnivores of the World|url=https://archive.org/details/walkerscarnivore0000nowa|url-access=registration|year=2005|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8032-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/walkerscarnivore0000nowa/page/201 201]–202}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== The Malagasy civet is found in lowland and rainforest areas of Eastern and Northern areas of Madagascar, and can also be found in humid and isolated forests in Amber Mountain National Park, and farther north in the less-humid forests of Ankarana Reserve. It can be found from sea level to {{convert|1600|m}} above sea level, but is only common up to {{convert|1000|m}} above sea level.<ref name=iucn/><ref name="Garbutt2007"/>
==Conservation status== The Malagasy civet is listed as Vulnerable by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with a decreasing population. Though threatened by deforestation, hunting, charcoal production, logging, and competition from introduced species such as dogs, cats, and small Indian civets, it is locally common. Introduced animals such as dogs are likely to prey on Malagasy civets.<ref name=iucn/> Its range is now reduced to isolated patches.<ref name="Nowak2005"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== *Macdonald, David (ed). ''The Encyclopedia of Mammals''. (New York, 1984) *Anderson, Simon (ed). ''Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals''. (Milan, 1982)
==External links== {{Wikispecies|Fossa fossana}} {{Commonscat|Fossa_fossana}} *ARKive - [https://web.archive.org/web/20061008134215/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Fossa_fossana/ images and movies of the striped civet ''(Fossa fossana)'']
{{Carnivora|E.}} {{Feliformia|Her.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q525088}}
Category:Carnivorans of Africa Category:Endemic fauna of Madagascar Category:Eupleridae Category:Mammals of Madagascar Category:Mammals described in 1776 Category:Taxa named by Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller