An international team of researchers, led by the University of Toronto and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), identified and named a new extinct species of giant civet: Civettictis vulpidens. This discovery is based on an exceptionally complete set of Pliocene fossils, approximately 5.2 million years old, found in the Langebaanweg E Quarry site in South Africa.
Civets are carnivorous mammals of the Viverridae family, characterized by their elongated body, short legs, pointed snout, and a long tail. They are mainly found in Africa and Asia and have nocturnal habits, feeding on small animals, fruits, and insects.
The study, published in Palaeontographica A, confirms that Civettictis vulpidens is closely related to the current African civet (Civettictis civetta) and to the extinct Civettictis leakeyi, whose remains were found in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Morocco.
According to Alberto Valenciano, a researcher at the Department of Stratigraphy, Geodynamics, and Paleontology of the UCM, the analysis of the brain mold of C. vulpidens revealed similarities with the modern civet but also key anatomical differences. With an estimated weight of 24 kg, twice that of its current relative, this species would have played the role of a mesocarnivore in its ecosystem. The study involved collaboration with the University of Toronto, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Iziko Museum of South Africa.
## Evolution of Carnivores in the Pliocene
The finding represents the most complete fossil sample of a viverrid or giant civet worldwide, providing unprecedented information about its morphology, evolution, and ecology. Although the fossils of this species have been known since the 1970s, their classification had not been defined until now.
“The difficulty in its classification was due to Langebaanweg being in an intermediate period between two other African sites with giant viverrids. The reevaluation of the classic fossils from this location, along with the analysis of new specimens, allowed the identification of this new species,” explains Valenciano.
This discovery is key to understanding the evolution of carnivores in Africa during the Pliocene, demonstrating the existence of extinct forms different from those existing today. Furthermore, it helps to reconstruct ancient ecosystems and understand how mammal communities changed over time.
“The study of the morphology and evolutionary relationships of C. vulpidens allows us to trace the history of civets and their relatives, with applications in paleontology, biogeography, and conservation. Understanding how these species responded to climatic changes in the past gives us clues about the adaptation of current carnivores to future ecological challenges,” concludes the UCM researcher.
## Differences with the Modern Civet
Unlike the extinct civet discovered by scientists, modern civets are much smaller. These animals are characterized by having longer cheeks, whisker tufts along their lower jaw, shorter legs, and five toes on their hind legs. Additionally, their carnivorous teeth are less developed than those of cats, as they are not obligate carnivores and therefore did not develop the same dentition for meat shredding.
As omnivores, civets consume a wide variety of foods, including millipedes, an insect that most other animals avoid due to the cyanide they contain.
Their head and body length is 680-890 mm, while tail length is 445-63 mm, and their weight ranges from 7-20 kg. However, their feces are much larger than expected for an animal of their size.
Civets have six mammary glands, which is not remarkable, but what is truly curious is that each of their offspring has its own teat when suckling from their mother.
Source: Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
**[¿Ya conoces nuestro canal de YouTube? ¡Suscríbete!](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrYLIWysAyv4m833zGAQ02g)**
