{{Short description|Family of carnivores}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Malagasy carnivorans<ref name=msw3>{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000443}}</ref> | fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Holocene}} | image = Eupleridae.png | image_caption = | taxon = Eupleridae | authority = Chenu, 1850 | range_map = Eupleridae_range.png | range_map_caption = Eupleridae subfamily ranges | type_genus = ''Eupleres'' | type_genus_authority = Doyère, 1835 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = * Subfamily '''Euplerinae''' ** ''Cryptoprocta'' ** ''Eupleres'' ** ''Fossa'' * Subfamily '''Galidiinae''' ** ''Galidia'' ** ''Galidictis'' ** ''Mungotictis'' ** ''Salanoia'' | synonyms = * Euplerini {{small|Simpson, 1945}} * Cryptoproctina {{small|Gray, 1864}} * Galidiina {{small|Gray, 1864}} * Cryptoproctidae {{small|Flower, 1869}} * Galidiinae {{small|Gill, 1872}} * Galidictinae {{small|Mivart, 1882}} * Cryptoproctinae {{small|Trouessart, 1885}} * Fossinae {{small|Pocock, 1915}} }}
'''Eupleridae''' is a family of carnivorans endemic to Madagascar and comprising 10 known living species in seven genera, commonly known as '''euplerids''' or '''Malagasy carnivorans'''. The best known species is the fossa (''Cryptoprocta ferox''), in the subfamily Euplerinae. All species of Euplerinae were formerly classified as viverrids, while all species in the subfamily Galidiinae were classified as mongooses.
Recent molecular studies indicate that the 10 living species of Madagascar carnivorans evolved from one ancestor that is thought to have rafted over from mainland Africa 18–24 million years ago. This makes Malagasy carnivorans a clade. They are closely allied with the true herpestid mongooses, their closest living relatives.<ref>{{cite journal |doi = 10.1080/10635150590923326 |last1=Flynn |first1=J |last2=Finarelli |first2=J. A. |last3=Zehr |first3=S |last4=Hsu |first4=J |last5=Nedbal |first5=M. A. |pmid = 16012099 |volume=54 |issue=2 |title=Molecular phylogeny of the carnivora (mammalia): assessing the impact of increased sampling on resolving enigmatic relationships |date=April 2005 |journal=Syst. Biol. |pages=317–337|doi-access=free }}</ref> The fossa and the Malagasy civet (''Fossa fossana'') are each evolutionarily quite distinct from each other and from the rest of the clade.
All Eupleridae are considered threatened species due to habitat destruction, as well as predation and competition from non-native species.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Eupleridae.html |title=Eupleridae |website=Animal Diversity |publisher=University of Michigan}}</ref>
==Taxonomy and phylogeny== Historically, the relationships of the Madagascar carnivorans have been contentious, but molecular evidence suggests that they form a single clade, now recognized as the family Eupleridae.{{r|2003Yoder|MSW3|Gaubert2005}} The hyena family, Hyaenidae, is a sister taxon of the euplerid and herpestid clade, and when grouped together with the viverrids and felids, as well as some smaller groups, forms the feliform (cat-like carnivores) clade.{{r|2003NatHist-13a}}<ref name="2007Barycka">{{cite journal | last = Barycka | first = E. | title = Evolution and systematics of the feliform Carnivora | journal = Mammalian Biology | volume = 72 | issue = 5 | year = 2007 | pages = 257–282 | doi = 10.1016/j.mambio.2006.10.011| bibcode = 2007MamBi..72..257B }}</ref>
The evolutionary divergence between the herpestids and the euplerids dates back to the Oligocene.{{r|2007Barycka}} At that time, feliforms shared many similarities, particularly between the cats and the viverrids. ''Palaeoprionodon'' (within the clade Aeluroidea), found in Europe and Asia from the late Eocene or early Oligocene, looked similar to the modern fossa, while ''Proailurus'', an extinct form of cat, exhibited many viverrid-like characteristics.{{r|1986Köhncke}} Despite these similarities in the fossil record, the modern Malagasy carnivores are distinctly different, with the Euplerinae and Galidiinae subfamilies bearing similarities with civets and mongooses, respectively.{{r|2003NatHist-13a}} Species in Euplerinae (including the fossa, falanouc, and Malagasy civet) have auditory regions similar to those of viverrids, while those in Galidiinae have auditory regions similar to those of herpestids. Based on this trait, Robert M. Hunt Jr. proposed in 1996 that Madagascar was colonized twice, once by viverrids and once by herpestids. However, the genetic studies by Yoder and colleagues in 2003 suggested that a single colonization event occurred by a primitive herpestid ancestor, which was quickly followed by adaptive radiation. The common ancestor arrived from Africa, probably by rafting, during the late Oligocene or early Miocene (24–18 Mya),{{r|2003NatHist-13a|2007Barycka}} though Philippe Gaubert and Veron estimated a divergence date of 19.4 Mya (16.5–22.7 Mya).{{r|2007Barycka|2003Gaubert}}
===Classification=== {|class="wikitable" |+ style="text-align:left;" |Family Eupleridae |- ! Subfamily !! Genus !! Species!! Image |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccccFF;" ! rowspan="3" style="text-align:center; background:#ccccFF;"|Euplerinae ||'''''Cryptoprocta''''' {{small|(Bennett, 1833)}} || * Fossa (''C. ferox'') * †Giant fossa (''C. spelea'') |175px |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccccFF;" ||'''''Eupleres''''' {{small|(Doyère, 1835)}} || * Eastern falanouc (''E. goudotii'') * Western falanouc (''E. major'') |175px |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#ccccFF;" ||'''''Fossa''''' {{small|(Gray, 1864)}} || * Malagasy civet (''F. fossana'') |175px |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#eeccFF;" ! rowspan="4" style="text-align:center; background:#eeccFF;"|Galidiinae ||'''''Galidia''''' {{small|(I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1837)}} || * Ring-tailed vontsira (''G. elegans'') |175px |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#eeccFF;" ||'''''Galidictis''''' {{small|(I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1839)}} || * Broad-striped Malagasy mongoose (''G. fasciata'') * Grandidier's mongoose (''G. grandidieri'') |175px |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#eeccFF;" ||'''''Mungotictis''''' {{small|(Pocock, 1915)}} || * Narrow-striped mongoose (''M. decemlineata'') |175px |- style="vertical-align:top; background:#eeccFF;" ||'''''Salanoia''''' {{small|(Gray, 1864)}} || * Durrell's vontsira (''S. durrelli'') * Brown-tailed mongoose (''S. concolor'') |175px |}
===Phylogenetic tree=== The phylogenetic relationships of Malagasy carnivorans (Eupleridae) are shown in the following cladogram:<ref name="2003Yoder">{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/nature01303 |last1=Yoder |first1=A.D. |last2=Burns |first2=M.M. |last3=Zehr |first3=S. |last4=Delefosse |first4=T. |last5=Veron |first5=G. |last6=Goodman |first6=S.M. |last7=Flynn |first7=J.J. |title=Single origin of Malagasy Carnivora from an African ancestor |journal=Nature |volume=421 |year=2003 |issue=6924 |pages=734–737 |url=http://yoderlab.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2003YoderBurnsNature.pdf |access-date=19 May 2010 |pmid=12610623|bibcode=2003Natur.421..734Y |s2cid=4404379 }}</ref> {{clade |style=font-size:85%;line-height:85%; |label1='''Eupleridae''' |1={{clade |label1='''Euplerinae''' |style1=background-color:#ccccFF; |1={{clade |1={{clade |label1=''Cryptoprocta'' |1={{clade |1=''Cryptoprocta ferox'' (Fossa) |2=†''Cryptoprocta spelea'' (Giant fossa) }} |label2=''Fossa'' |2=''Fossa fossana'' (Malagasy civet) }} |label2=''Eupleres'' |2={{clade |1=''Eupleres major'' (Western falanouc) |2=''Eupleres goudotii'' (Eastern falanouc) }} }} |label2='''Galidiinae''' |style2=background-color:#eeccFF; |2={{clade |label1=''Galidia'' |1=''Galidia elegans'' (Ring-tailed vontsira) |2={{clade |label1=''Galidictis'' |1={{clade |1=''Galidictis fasciata'' (Broad-striped vontsira) |2=''Galidictis grandidieri'' (Grandidier's mongoose) }} |2={{clade |label1=''Salanoia'' |1={{clade |1=''Salanoia durrelli'' (Durrell's vontsira) |2=''Salanoia concolor'' (Brown-tailed vontsira) }} |label2=''Mungotictis'' |2=''Mungotictis decemlineata'' (Narrow-striped mongoose) }} }} }} }} }}
==See also== * List of mammals of Madagascar
==References== {{Reflist |refs= <ref name="MSW3">{{cite book |last1=Wozencraft |first1=W.C. |year=2005 |chapter=Order Carnivora |editor1-last=Wilson |editor1-first=D.E. |editor2-last=Reeder |editor2-first=D.M. |title=Mammal Species of the World |edition=3rd |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |pages=559–561 |chapter-url=https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14000446 |isbn=978-0-8018-8221-0}}</ref> <ref name="1986Köhncke">{{cite journal |last1=Köhncke |first1=M. |last2=Leonhardt |first2=K. |title=Cryptoprocta ferox |journal=Mammalian Species |issue=254 |pages=1–5 |year=1986 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-254-01-0001.pdf |access-date=19 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621003457/http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-254-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-21 |url-status=dead |doi=10.2307/3503919 |jstor=3503919}}</ref> <ref name="2003Gaubert">{{cite journal |last1=Gaubert |first1=P. |last2=Veron |first2=G. |title=Exhaustive sample set among Viverridae reveals the sister-group of felids: the linsangs as a case of extreme morphological convergence within Feliformia |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |year=2003 |volume=270 |issue=1532 |pmid=14667345 |pages=2523–2530 |pmc=1691530 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2003.2521 }}</ref> <ref name=2003NatHist-13a>{{cite book |editor1-last=Goodman |editor1-first=S.M. |editor2-last=Benstead |editor2-first=J.P. |title=The Natural History of Madagascar |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-226-30306-2 |last1=Yoder |first1=A.D. |last2=Flynn |first2=J.J. |chapter=Origin of Malagasy Carnivora |pages=1253–1256}}</ref> <ref name="Gaubert2005">{{cite journal |last1=Gaubert |first1=Philippe |last2=Wozencraft |first2=W Chris |last3=Cordeiro-Estrela |first3=Pedro |last4=Veron |first4=Geraldine |title=Mosaics of Convergences and Noise in Morphological Phylogenies: What's in a Viverrid-Like Carnivoran? |journal=Systematic Biology |date=December 2005 |volume=54 |issue=6 |pages=865–894 |doi=10.1080/10635150500232769 |pmid=16282167 |doi-access=free }}</ref> }}
{{Carnivora|E.}} {{Taxonbar |from=Q641742}}
Category:Eupleridae Category:Mammal families Category:Endemic fauna of Madagascar Category:Mammals of Madagascar Category:Extant Chattian first appearances Category:Taxa named by Jean-Charles Chenu