Asiatic linsang
genus of mammals
The Asiatic linsang (Prionodon) is a genus with two species, the banded linsang (Prionodon linsang) and the spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor).[1] They are native to southeast Asia:
| Asiatic linsang Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Prionodontidae Horsfield, 1822 |
| Subfamily: | Prionodontinae Gray, 1864 |
| Genus: | Prionodon Horsfield, 1822 |
| Species | |
DNA analysis on 29 species showed that Prionodon was the sister-group of the family Felidae. So the Asiatic linsangs are put in a family of their own, the Prionodontidae.[2] Prionodon is not closely related to the African linsangs, although they look similar, and live a similar life. They are small cat-like carnivores adapted to catching small prey among the trees of a tropical forest. The similarities between the two groups came about by convergent evolution.
Prionodon is basal to the Feliformia and a sister taxon of the Felidae.[3]
References
change- ↑ Pocock R.I. 1939. 'The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. – Volume 1. Taylor and Francis, London, 334–342.
- ↑ Gaubert P. and Veron G. 2003. Exhaustive sample set among Viverridae reveals the sister-group of felids: the linsangs as a case of extreme morphological convergence within Feliformia. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B, 270 (1532): 2523–2530. doi:10.1098/rspb.2003.2521
- ↑ Barycka E. 2007. Evolution and systematics of the feliform Carnivora. Mammalian Biology. 72: 257–282.