Genetta felina
Genetta felina (Thunberg, 1811)
Common name: South African small-spotted genet.
Synonyms: macrura Jentink, 1892.
Distribution: Angola, Namibia, Orange Free State, South Africa, Zambia.
Habitat: woodland savannah, grassland, thickets, dry vlei areas, bordering of deserts.
Sympatric species: G. genetta, G. "letabae", G. maculata, G. tigrina.
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Teeth
- General aspect of the dentition : normal
- m2 : developed (similar to size of m1 talonid)
- M2 : present, well developed
- Flattening of the anterior region of the mandible : absent
- m1 talonid : developed (hypoconulid, entoconid and hypoconid present)
- P3 lingual cusp : present
Body proportion
Pads
Teats
Hair ultrastructure
- Cortex of dorsal guard hair (spatula) : thin (< 1/3 medulla width)
- Cross section shape of dorsal guard hair (base of spatula) : round or slightly ovoid
- Margin of the scales located in the middle of the spatula of dorsal guard hair : crenelated
- Shape of the scales located between the base and the middle of dorsal guard hair : baso-distally compressed
Coat
- Pair of wide median nuchal stripes : absent
- Coat of hindfoot : dark
- Coat of upper leg : same as ground coloration but dark posterior part
- Coat of inner upper leg : dark
- Spots on upper leg : merged into fragmented horizontal lines
- Coat of forefoot : same as ground coloration but dark around pads
- Coat of upper arm : same as ground coloration but dark posterior part
- Mid-dorsal crest : present (longer than adjacent dorsal hairs)
- Length of hairs on tail : long (from 40 to 45 mm)
- Tip of the tail : bright
- Chin : inferior chops bordered by a large dark stripe
- Sagital (nuchal) crest : absent
- Rings on tail : present
- Dorsal spots : present
- Number of bright rings on tail (not included, if present: i) short, distal bright ring, and ii) last bright ring covered with dark) : eight ; nine
- Relative width of the bright rings over the dark rings (middle of tail, dorsal view) : ca. 200 %
- Shape of the first dark rings of the tail : circle
- Distal part of the tail : alternation of dark and bright rings
- "Dirty"stripe longitudinally crossing the rings of the upper part of the tail : well marked
- Mid-dorsal line : present
- Longitudinal coalescence of the first row of dorsal spots (contiguous to mid-dorsal line) : weak,at the rump (fusion of 2-3 spots) ; important, at the rump (fusion of> 3 spots)
- Density of distribution of dorsal spots : low
- Mid-dorsal line, pattern : continuous stripe
- Mid-dorsal line, coloration : full dark
Skull
- Maxillary-palatine suture position in relation to main cusp of P3 : at the same level ; forward
- Premaxillary-maxillary suture position in relation to cusp of P1 : forward ; at the same level
- Ventral inflation of the caudal entotympanic bone (ceb) : weak (similar level of inflation with ectotympanic bone)
- Staphylinal fissure : V-shaped
- Interorbital constriction : intermediate (equal to 1 +/- 0.12)
- Posterior extension of the frontal bones, from post-orbital process to post-orbital constriction : moderated, overlapping ca. 50 % of the dorsal part of the interorbital constriction
- Premaxillary-frontal contact : absent
- Shape of crest of insertion of temporal muscles (upper part of the parietal) : large stripe