Otter Civet

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Otter Civet

The Otter Civet, Cynogale bennettii, is a semi-aquatic civet

Civet

The family Viverridae is made up of 35 species, including all of the genet , the Binturong, most of the civets, and the four linsangs.Viverrids are native to most of the Old World tropics, nearly all of Africa , Madagascar, and the Iberian Peninsula....
found in forests, primarily lowland, near rivers and swampy areas of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra

Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
, and Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the List of islands by area and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei....
. An additional population, only known from single specimen

Specimen

In biology, a Laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, plant, part of a plant, or microorganism used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or subspecies....
, occurs in northern Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
(with likely – but unconfirmed – records from adjacent parts of Thailand

Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
and Yunnan

Yunnan

is a political divisions of China of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers ....
, China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
). The latter population has sometimes been considered a separate species, the Lowe's Otter Civet (C.

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Encyclopedia

The Otter Civet, Cynogale bennettii, is a semi-aquatic civet
Civet

The family Viverridae is made up of 35 species, including all of the genet , the Binturong, most of the civets, and the four linsangs.Viverrids are native to most of the Old World tropics, nearly all of Africa , Madagascar, and the Iberian Peninsula....
found in forests, primarily lowland, near rivers and swampy areas of the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra
Sumatra

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the list of islands by area in the world ....
, and Borneo
Borneo

Borneo is the List of islands by area and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. Administratively, this island is divided between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei....
. An additional population, only known from single specimen
Specimen

In biology, a Laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, plant, part of a plant, or microorganism used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or subspecies....
, occurs in northern Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
(with likely – but unconfirmed – records from adjacent parts of Thailand
Thailand

The Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Laos and Myanmar, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Myanmar....
and Yunnan
Yunnan

is a political divisions of China of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately 394,000 square kilometers ....
, China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
). The latter population has sometimes been considered a separate species, the Lowe's Otter Civet (C. lowei), in which case the common name
Common name

A common name is a name in general use within a community . A common name is not necessarily a commonly used name.Many of the conventions and traditions described in this article are based on the English language, and thus may not apply to common names in other languages....
of C. bennettii has been modified to the Sunda Otter Civet (a reference to its then entirely Sundaic
Sundaland

Sundaland is a biogeography region of Southeast Asia that comprises the Maritime Southeast Asia islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and surrounding smaller islands....
distribution).

The Otter Civet possesses several adaptions to its habitat
Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or Natural_environment area that is inhabited by a particular animal or plant species. It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population....
, including a broad mouth and webbed feet with naked soles and long claws. Its muzzle is long with numerous long whisker
Vibrissae

Vibrissae , or whiskers, are specialized hairs, usually employed for tactile sensation, but can also refer to the stiff feathers near the mouths of some birds....
s.

The Otter Civet is nocturnal species that obtains most of its food from the water, feeding on fish, crabs, freshwater mollusks, as well as being able to climb to feed on birds and fruit. Given its rarity and secretive nature it is a very poorly known species. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN.