Poiana (genus)

Poiana
Central African oyan (Poiana richardsonii)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Viverridae
Subfamily: Genettinae
Genus: Poiana
Gray, 1865[1][2]
Type species
Genetta richardsonii[3]
Species

The African linsangs[4] also known as oyans[5] are two species classified in the mammalian subfamily Viverrinae, in the family Viverridae. There is one genus, Poiana.

The name linsang is from Javanese linsang or wlinsang, which used to be wrongly translated as "otter" in English dictionaries. Linsangs are nocturnal, generally solitary tree dwellers. They are carnivorous, eating squirrels and other rodents, small birds, lizards and insects. Typical size is a little over 30 cm (1 foot), with a tail that more than doubles that length. Bodies are long, with short legs, giving a low appearance. Both species have yellowish bodies with black markings (stripes, blotches and spots), though the distribution and nature of the markings varies between the two species.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gray was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ICMW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  4. ^ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  5. ^ Don E. Wilson , Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Lynx Editions, Barcelona, 2009. ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1