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23-522: Viverridae is a family of small to medium-sized, feliform mammals . The viverrids ( / v aɪ ˈ v ɛ r ɪ d z / ) comprise 33 species placed in 14 genera . This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821. Viverrids occur all over Africa , southern Europe , and South and Southeast Asia , across the Wallace Line . Almost all viverrids outside the subfamily Genettinae are commonly called civets. The species of

46-602: A common ancestor ) or paraphyletic (excluding some descendants), these concepts do not apply to monotypic taxa because they contain only a single member. Monotypic taxa are part of a broader challenge in biological classification known as aphyly – situations where evolutionary relationships are poorly supported by evidence. This includes both monotypic groups and cases where traditional groupings are found to be artificial. Understanding how monotypic taxa fit into this bigger picture helps identify areas needing further research. The German lichenologist Robert Lücking suggests that

69-482: A hierarchical system. When taxonomists identify a monotypic taxon, this often reflects uncertainty about its relationships rather than true evolutionary isolation . This uncertainty is evident in many cases across different species. For instance, the diatom Licmophora juergensii is placed in a monotypic genus because scientists have not yet found clear evidence of its relationships to other species. Some taxonomists argue against monotypic taxa because they reduce

92-554: A lack of widespread consensus within the scientific community for extended periods. The continual publication of new data and diverse opinions plays a crucial role in facilitating adjustments and ultimately reaching a consensus over time. The naming of families is codified by various international bodies using the following suffixes: The taxonomic term familia was first used by French botanist Pierre Magnol in his Prodromus historiae generalis plantarum, in quo familiae plantarum per tabulas disponuntur (1689) where he called

115-553: A natural classification. From a cladistic perspective, which focuses on shared derived characteristics to determine evolutionary relationships, the theoretical status of monotypic taxa is complex. Some argue they can only be justified when relationships cannot be resolved through synapomorphies (shared derived characteristics); otherwise, they would necessarily exclude related species and thus be paraphyletic. However, others contend that while most taxonomic groups can be classified as either monophyletic (containing all descendants of

138-701: Is a member of the Eupleridae . The African palm civet ( Nandinia binotata ) resembles the civets of the Viverridae, but is genetically distinct and belongs in its own monotypic family, the Nandiniidae . There is little dispute that the Poiana species are viverrids. DNA analysis based on 29 carnivoran species, comprising 13 Viverrinae species and three species representing Paradoxurus , Paguma and Hemigalinae , confirmed Pocock's assumption that

161-499: Is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". The delineation of what constitutes a family— or whether a described family should be acknowledged— is established and decided upon by active taxonomists . There are not strict regulations for outlining or acknowledging a family, yet in the realm of plants, these classifications often rely on both the vegetative and reproductive characteristics of plant species. Taxonomists frequently hold varying perspectives on these descriptions, leading to

184-402: Is known as "Gregg's Paradox": if a single species is the only member of multiple hierarchical levels (for example, being the only species in its genus, which is the only genus in its family), then each level needs a distinct definition to maintain logical structure. Otherwise, the different taxonomic ranks become effectively identical, which creates problems for organizing biological diversity in

207-485: Is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy . It is classified between order and genus . A family may be divided into subfamilies , which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae , but that family

230-407: Is particularly associated with island species. Among 25 documented extinct monotypic genera studied, 22 occurred on islands, with flightless animals being particularly vulnerable to human impacts. Just as the term monotypic is used to describe a taxon including only one subdivision, the contained taxon can also be referred to as monotypic within the higher-level taxon, e.g. a genus monotypic within

253-518: Is rough with sharp prickles. A pouch or gland occurs beneath the anus, but there is no cecum . Viverrids are the most primitive of all the families of feliform Carnivora and clearly less specialized than the Felidae . In external characteristics, they are distinguished from the Felidae by the longer muzzle and tuft of facial vibrissae between the lower jaw bones, and by the shorter limbs and

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276-536: The Genera Plantarum of George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker this word ordo was used for what now is given the rank of family. Families serve as valuable units for evolutionary, paleontological, and genetic studies due to their relatively greater stability compared to lower taxonomic levels like genera and species. Monotypic Monotypic taxa present several important theoretical challenges in biological classification . One key issue

299-1834: The African linsang Poiana represents the sister group of the genus Genetta . The placement of Prionodon as the sister group of the family Felidae is strongly supported, and it was proposed that the Asiatic linsangs be placed in the monogeneric family Prionodontidae . The phylogenetic relationships of Viverridae are shown in the following cladogram: Golden palm civet P. zeylonensis Jerdon's palm civet P. jerdoni Asian palm civet P. hermaphroditus Sulawesi palm civet M. musschenbroekii Masked palm civet P. larvata Binturong A. binturong Small-toothed palm civet A. trivirgata Otter civet C. bennettii Owston's palm civet C. owstoni Hose's palm civet D. hosei Banded palm civet H. derbyanus Malabar large-spotted civet V. civettina Large-spotted civet V. megaspila Large Indian civet V. zibetha Malayan civet V. tangalunga [REDACTED] African civet C. civetta [REDACTED] Small Indian civet V. indica West African oyan P. leightoni Central African oyan P. richardsonii Abyssinian genet G. abyssinica Haussa genet G. thierryi Giant forest genet G. victoriae Johnston's genet G. johnstoni Aquatic genet G. piscivora Servaline genet G. servalina Crested servaline genet G. cristata South African small-spotted genet G. felina Common genet G. genetta Cape genet G. tigrina Letaba genet G. letabae Schouteden's genet G. schoutedeni Rusty-spotted genet G. maculata Angolan genet G. angolensis Pardine genet G. pardina Bourlon's genet G. bourloni King genet G. poensis Family (biology) Family ( Latin : familia , pl. : familiae )

322-745: The common application of the term monotypic is frequently misleading, "since each taxon by definition contains exactly one type and is hence "monotypic", regardless of the total number of units", and suggests using "monospecific" for a genus with a single species, and "monotaxonomic" for a taxon containing only one unit. Species in monotypic genera tend to be more threatened with extinction than average species. Studies have found this pattern particularly pronounced in amphibians , where about 6.56% of monotypic genera are critically endangered , compared to birds and mammals where around 4.54% and 4.02% of monotypic genera face critical endangerment respectively. Studies have found that extinction of monotypic genera

345-440: The depression of the tympanic bone in front of the swollen entotympanic. The typical dental formula is: 3.1.4.2 3.1.4.2 , but the number may be reduced, although never to the same extent as in the Felidae. Their flesh-shearing carnassial teeth are relatively undeveloped compared to those of other feliform carnivorans. Most viverrid species have a penis bone (a baculum ). In 1821, Gray defined this family as consisting of

368-540: The family as a rank intermediate between order and genus was introduced by Pierre André Latreille in his Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel (1796). He used families (some of them were not named) in some but not in all his orders of "insects" (which then included all arthropods ). In nineteenth-century works such as the Prodromus of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and

391-405: The five-toed hind foot with the first digit present. The skull differs by the position of the postpalatine foramina on the maxilla , almost always well in advance of the maxillopalatine suture , and usually about the level of the second premolar ; and by the distinct external division of the auditory bulla into its two elements either by a definite groove or, when rarely this is obliterated, by

414-414: The genera Viverra , Genetta , Herpestes , and Suricata . Reginald Innes Pocock later redefined the family as containing a great number of highly diversified genera, and being susceptible of division into several subfamilies , based mainly on the structure of the feet and of some highly specialized scent glands , derived from the skin, which are present in most of the species and are situated in

437-427: The information content of biological classifications. As taxonomists Backlund and Bremer explain in their critique, "'Monotypic' taxa do not provide any information about the relationships of the immediately subordinate taxon". When monotypic taxa are sister to a single larger group, they might be merged into that group; however, when they are sister to multiple other groups, they may need to remain separate to maintain

460-579: The region of the external generative organs. He subordinated the subfamilies Hemigalinae , Paradoxurinae , Prionodontinae , and Viverrinae to the Viverridae. In 1833, Edward Turner Bennett described the Malagasy fossa ( Cryptoprocta ferox ) and subordinated the Cryptoprocta to the Viverridae. A molecular and morphological analysis based on DNA /DNA hybridization experiments suggests that Cryptoprocta does not belong within Viverridae, but

483-575: The seventy-six groups of plants he recognised in his tables families ( familiae ). The concept of rank at that time was not yet settled, and in the preface to the Prodromus Magnol spoke of uniting his families into larger genera , which is far from how the term is used today. In his work Philosophia Botanica published in 1751, Carl Linnaeus employed the term familia to categorize significant plant groups such as trees , herbs , ferns , palms , and so on. Notably, he restricted

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506-510: The subfamily Genettinae are known as genets and oyans . The word viverridae comes from the Latin viverra ' ferret ', but ferrets are in a different family, the Mustelidae . Viverrids have four or five toes on each foot and half-retractile claws . They have six incisors in each jaw and molars with two tubercular grinders behind in the upper jaw, and one in the lower jaw. The tongue

529-497: The use of this term solely within the book's morphological section, where he delved into discussions regarding the vegetative and generative aspects of plants. Subsequently, in French botanical publications, from Michel Adanson 's Familles naturelles des plantes (1763) and until the end of the 19th century, the word famille was used as a French equivalent of the Latin ordo (or ordo naturalis ). In zoology ,

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