Cat-fox

Infobox Paranormalcreatures
Creature_Name = Cat-fox


Image_Caption =
Grouping = Cryptid
Sub_Grouping =
AKA =
Country = Indonesia
Region = Borneo
Habitat = Forest
First_Reported = 2003
Last_Sighted =
Status = UnknownThe cat-fox is a potential new species of carnivore discovered on the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo.

It was first discovered by Swiss-based environmental group WWF in 2003, using a night-time camera trap in Kayan Mentarang National Park. The mammal is slightly larger than a cat, with red fur, a long tail, and hind legs that are longer than the front legs. Its overall appearance is something between a cat and a fox. In some ways it resembles the Fossa ("Cryptoprocta ferox") of Madagascar.

The WWF plans to set traps to capture and study the animal. If this proves to truly be a new species, it will be the first new carnivore discovered on Borneo since the Borneo Ferret Badger ("Melogale everetti") in 1895. Other new mammals are discovered in Borneo with some regularity, for example the rodent "Pithecheirops otion" in 1993 and the bat "Myotis gomantongensis" in 1998. Some individuals have speculated that the animal in the photographs is a known (but exceedingly rare) species, Hose's Palm Civet ("Diplogale hosei").

However, a new report published by Erik Meijaard, Andrew C. Kitchener, and Chris Smeenk in 2007 suggests the animal photographed may not be a Carnivore after all, but one of the area's large flying squirrels of the genus "Aeromys", possibly Thomas's Flying Squirrel ("A. thomasi").

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4501152.stm BBC story covering the species' discovery]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10349671/ MSNBC's story]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1660684,00.html News article calling it a cat-fox]
* [http://www.lioncrusher.com//animal.asp?animal=100 Lioncrusher's page on Hose's Palm Civet]
* [http://panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=52960 WWF - Mysterious carnivore discovered in Borneo's forests]
* [http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2007/01/thats-no-mystery-carnivore-part-i.html That's no mystery carnivore part 1]
* [http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2007/01/thats-no-mystery-carnivore-part-ii-its.html That's no mystery carnivore part 2]