10. Angolan Genet Genetta angolensis French: Genette d'Angola / German: Angola-Genette / Spanish: Gineta angolena Other common names: Miombo Genet Taxonomy. Genella angolensis Bocage, 1882, Caconda, Angola. Monotypic. Distribution. Angola, DR Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. Descriptive notes. Head-body 46:5-47. 8 cm (males), 44-45. 5 cm (females), tail 40-43 cm (males), 38-39 cm (females), hindfoot 8:7.9-8 cm (males), 8-9 cm (females), ear 4.7-5. 4 cm (males), 5.1-5. 8 cm (females); weight 1.3-2 kg. The coat color is pale ocher, with brownish or grayish tones; melanistic individuals are quite common. The throat and chest are blackish, and the ventral pelage varies from creamy white to dirty white. The stripes and spots on the body vary from different hues of brown to black. The nuchal stripes run as two parallel lines from the nape to the shoulders, where they diverge and enlarge towards the elbows; they are not so conspicuously marked as in other genet species. Below them, a pair of thinner stripes and small spots are scattered on the shoulders and sides of the neck. A third pair of thinner, parallel stripes runs down the neck between the nuchal stripes, extending to about one fourth of the mid-dorsal line, where they vanish or diverge as the first row of flank spots. The black mid-dorsal line is continuous and is flanked on each side by four rows of oblong to squared spots, and by a few small-scattered spots below. There is a dorsal erectile crest. The face has a dark mask and a pair of white sub-ocular spots. The tail has seven to nine black rings, alternating with pale rings; the intervening white spaces are pigmented with a brownish tinge on the dorsal midline. The width of the pale rings relative to the dark rings in the middle of the tail is 50-75%; the tip of the tail is dark. The hindlimbs and forelimbs are black; there are white hairs on the metacarpals and metatarsals. [he posterior parts of the feet are dark. There are two pairs of teats. The posterior chamber of the auditory bulla is not ventrally inflated and has a continuous curve line on the external side. The ratio between the inter-orbital constriction and frontal width is 1-00 + 0-12. Dental formula: 13/3, C1/1,P 4/4, M 2/2 = 40. Habitat. Open miombo woodland (Brachystegia), interspersed with savannah. Food and Feeding. The stomach contents of a specimen from the Kafue National Park (Zambia) contained remains of grasshoppers, insects, unidentified fruit, and grass. Activity patterns. Appears to be nocturnal. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Has been seen foraging on the ground at night. Breeding. Nothing known. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. There are no known major threats: its habitat has only seen minor change and there appears to be little hunting pressure. Field studies of this poorly known species are needed. Bibliography. Crawford-Cabral (in press), Crawford-Cabral & Pacheco (1992), Crawford-Cabral & Fernandes (2001), Gaubert, Taylor & Veron (2005), Gaubert, Veron & Tranier (2002), Halternorth & Diller (1985), Schlawe (1980), Wozencraft (2005).

Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Viverridae, pp. 174-232 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 183, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5714564