Masked Palm Civet

About the Masked Palm Civet

The masked palm civet (Paguma larvata), also called the gem-faced civet or Himalayan palm civet, is a viverrid species native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List since 2008 as it occurs in many protected areas, is tolerant to some degree of habitat modification, and widely distributed with presumed large populations that are unlikely to be declining.

The genus Paguma was first named and described by John Edward Gray in 1831. All described forms are regarded as a single species. In 2003, masked palm civets at a wildlife market in China were found to have been infected with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus.

The genus name Paguma was first proposed and described by John Edward Gray in 1831. Reginald Innes Pocock thought the genus comprises two species, namely: P. lanigera in northern Nepal and Tibet and P. larvata with eight subspecies from the Himalayan foothills to southern China, Southeast Asia up to Indonesia.

The masked palm civet's fur is grayish to ochraceous, black on the head, shoulders and neck, and blackish brown on the tail and feet. It has a white blaze... Wikipedia →