- Zanzibar Servaline Genet
Taxobox
name = Zanzibar Servaline Genet
status = not assessed
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis =Mammal ia
ordo =Carnivora
familia =Viverridae
genus = "Genetta "
species = "G. servalina"
subspecies = "G. s. archeri"
trinomial = "Genetta servalina archeri"
trinomial_authority =Van Rompaey &Colyn , 1998The Zanzibar Servaline Genet ("Genetta servalina archeri") is a recently discoveredsubspecies ofServaline Genet endemic to Unguja Island in theTanzania n archipelago ofZanzibar . Its conservation status is uncertain.cite journal | author = Van Rompaey, H. & Colyn, M. | year = 1998 | title = A New Servaline Genet (Carnivora, Viverridae) from Zanzibar Island | journal = South African Journal of Zoology | volume = 33 | pages = 42–46]Evolutionary history
The closest known relative of the Zanzibar Servaline Genet is
Lowe's Servaline Genet , "G. s. lowei", a subspecies which is found in theEastern Arc Mountains of mainland Tanzania. These two animals have presumably been evolving independently since at least the end of the lastice age , when Unguja was separated from continentalAfrica by rising sea levels. The survival of the servaline genet on the island parallels that of the endemicZanzibar Leopard , and theZanzibar Red Colobus .Discovery and description
Although the servaline was known to rural Zanzibaris,cite journal | author = Goldman, H.V., Winther-Hansen, J. & Walsh, M.T. | year = 2004 | title = Zanzibar's Recently Discovered Servaline Genet | journal = Nature East Africa | volume = 34 | issue = 2 | pages = 5–7] zoologists remained unaware of its existence until the last decade of the 20th century. In 1995 Tony Archer, a wildlife consultant working in Zanzibar, acquired a dried skin and skull in the village of Kitogani, in south-central Unguja. This specimen was subsequently described as a new subspecies of servaline genet ("G. s. archeri"), named in honour of Archer.
In January 2003 live Zanzibar Servaline Genets were photographed for the first time in nearby
Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park . Camera traps yielded pictures of servalines at four locations, two in groundwater forest in the heart of the park and two in dry scrub to the north-east. These photographs provided new information about the distribution of the genet and its physical characteristics.cite web | author = Goldman, H.V. & Winther-Hansen, J. | year = 2003 | url = http://www.trailmaster.com/reference/ZbarCamTrap2003.pdf | title = The Small Carnivores of Unguja: Results of a Photo-trapping Survey in Jozani Forest Reserve, Zanzibar, Tanzania | accessdate = 2007-01-17] cite journal | author = Goldman, H.V. & Winther-Hansen, J. | year = 2003 | title = First Photographs of the Zanzibar Servaline Genet, "Genetta servaline archeri", and Other Endemic Subspecies on the Island of Unguja, Tanzania | journal = Small Carnivore Conservation | volume = 29 | pages = 1–4]References
External links
* [http://www.dccff.com/ Department of Commercial Crops, Fruits & Forestry (DCCFF), Zanzibar]
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