Golden Dry-Zone Palm Civets (Paradoxurus stenocephalus): Non-Ringtails Endemic to Sri Lanka

The quest by wildlife-loving amateurs and professionals outside South Asia to understand Sri Lanka’s civets begins in 1777. The misstep commences with a specimen in the nature cabinet during the Crown Prince years of subsequent Russian Emperor Paul I (October 1, 1754 – March 23, 1801). It draws its impetus from the invitation by Russian Empress Catherine II (May 2, 1729 – November 17, 1796) for Berlin-born German taxonomist Peter Simon Pallas (September 22, 1741 – September 8, 1811) to:

• Instruct Grand Dukes Alexander (December 23, 1777 – December 1, 1825) and Constantine (April 29, 1778 – June 27, 1831);
• Lead natural history expeditions throughout the Russian imperial provinces;
• Teach at Saint Petersburg’s Academy of Sciences;
• Write zoographies of Asia and Russia.

The Pallas specimen carries historically the common, trivial or vulgar name golden palm civet and recently the Latin, scientific or taxonomic name Paradoxurus zeylonensis (“Ceylon paradox”). It displays:

• Blackened rump and tail;
• Brown-overlaid grey upper-coat;
• Equal head-and-body and tail elongations;
• 5 rows of white whiskers bristling backward to flattened, soft-haired ears;
• Light grey under-coat;
• Marten-like, thin fur;
• Same-colored neck and throat;
• Super-visible bristle-bearing warts;
• Thick-based tail.

But the descriptions of backward-curving whiskers and blackened hindquarters fit no specimen previously known as a golden palm civet through:

• Collection for Colombo University, Colombo’s National Museum of Sri Lanka, and London’s Natural History Museum;

• Provenance in Sri Lanka’s dry sub-montane and upper-montane, south and west intermediate, and wet lowland zones.

The two features can be characteristic of Asian palm civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). Australian National University Professor Colin P. Groves in fact conjectures that:

• The Pallas specimen may be a golden-morphed Asian palm civet;
• The taxonomy P. zeylonensis may be referencing a pre-existing, proper identification (P. hermaphroditus) penned in the same year by the same taxonomist and must be side-lined.

He considers that all other live-trapped and museum specimens apparently fall within one of 4 classifications:

• Endemic golden dry-zone palm civets (P. stenocephalus);
• Endemic golden wet-zone palm civets (P. aureus);
• Endemic Sri Lankan brown palm civets (P. montanus);
• Mystery specimens stored in London’s Natural History Museum and ticketed as “Ceylon, confined to the Hills. Whyte” (Groves, p. 239).

The scientific classifications of golden wet-zone and Sri Lankan brown palm civets are pre-existing. They constitute nomenclature historically relegated incorrectly to synonymous status with the now-doubted designation golden palm civet (P. zeylonensis) and presently suggested for recognition as and separation into 2 independent species. The identification of golden dry-zone palm civets emerges in the Groves et al. article of 2009 as a fresh, new, proposed third species categorization. The binomial (“two-name”) taxonomy emphasizes a critical morphological (structural) distinction in comparison to Sri Lanka’s other palm tree fruit-consuming, sap-drinking civets. Golden dry-zone palm civets exhibit noticeable narrow-headedness. Their recommended species name therefore merges the ancient Greek adjective στενος (stenos, “narrow”) with the ancient Greek noun κέφαλος (kephalos, “head”).

Behavioral, corporeal, and distributional characteristics assist in identifying golden dry-zone palm civets. Existential habits, life cycles, and natural histories challenge scientific knowledge and require substantial research. But the preservation and the provenance of an adult female’s and an adult male’s skins and skulls -- and the live-trapping of an identical adult male -- contribute to a tentative generalization regarding the golden dry-zone palm civet’s physical configuration and location. Both museum specimens indeed depict as hallmark features:

• Backward-curved coronoid process;
• Dull gold-brown upper-fur;
• High brain-case;
• Large skull;
• Narrow interpterygoid (temple-area) fossa (opening);
• Narrow zygomatic (cheekbone) arches;
• Pale gold under-fur;
• Parallel-sided, square occipital crest;
• 3 clear, dark brown, thin stripes running mid-dorsally from rump to tail base;
• Wide muzzle.

Drought, evapo-transpiration, landforms, monsoons, precipitation, soils, temperature, and vegetation determine Sri Lanka’s division into 3 biotic (life) zones. Golden dry-zone palm civet homelands extend throughout the dry eastern and northern plains. They offer food sources and habitat niches within tropical dry broadleaf evergreen, moist deciduous, and thorny scrub forests of:

• Bidi leaf trees (Piliostigma racemosum);
• Buckthorns (Ziziphus caracutta);
• Bush plums (Carissa spinarum);
• Ceylon ironwoods (Manilkara hexandra);
• Ebony (Diospyros spp);
• Golden shower trees (Cassia fistula);
• Mustard trees (Salvadora persica);
• Neem trees (Azadirachta indica);
• Peacock chaste trees (Vitex altissima);
• Satinwoods (Chloroxylon sweitenia);
• Weera olives (Drypetes sepiaria);
• Wood-apples (Feronia limonia).

They suggest as possible population centers live- and snare-trapping sites at:

• Koslanda, Uva Province;
• Panama, Eastern Province;
• Walpolamulla, Central Province.

Packaging and timing color knowledge. They respectively defer to:

• Quality and quantity;
• Schedules and technology.

For example, large- to little-sized islands do not necessarily lend themselves to any easier faunal and floral understanding than do bigger, daunting continents. Their endemic fauna historically eludes collectors, explorers, and scientists as effectively as mainland animals if:

• Landforms and weather are aggressive and assertive;
• Organisms are reclusive and savvy.

Alive or dead, espied or gathered, they inadvertently facilitate or frustrate analysis and classification because of:

• Ambience;
• Funding;
• Numbers;
• Preservation;
• Timelines.

But the diligent intelligence evidenced in the Groves, Manemandra-Arachchi, Rajapaksha investigations and publications indicate that information-gathering ultimately aids research in general and -- in this case -- Sri Lanka’s golden dry-zone palm civets.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Portrait of Paul I of Russia
Russian Museum, Room 12, Mikhailovsky Palace, St. Petersburg, northwestern Russia: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Borovikovskiy_PtPavla1GRM.jpg

Golden Palm Civet (Paradoxurus zeylonensis)
Sinharaja Forest Reserve, southern Sri Lanka: Kalyanvarma, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paradoxurus_zeylonensis.jpg

Asian Common Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)
Kape Melo Farms, Inc., Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental Province, Mindanao, southern Philippines: Rbalmonia, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Civet_Cat_in_Kape_Melo_Farms,_Inc.,_Cagayan_de_Oro_City,_Philippinesm.jpg

Golden Wet-Zone Palm Civet (Paradoxurus aureus)
illustration by Joseph Smit (July 18, 1836 – November 4, 1929); W.T. Blanford, "A Monograph of the Genus Paradoxurus, F. Cuv."
Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London for the Year 1885 (Nov. 3), Plate L, between pages 780-781: Public Domain, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28697822

Paradoxurus aureus in 1822: Up until the 21st century, zoologists were unaware of differences qualifying Paradoxurus aureus for splitting into three endemic Sri Lankan species.
Frédéric Cuvier, "Du genre Paradoxure et de deux espèces nouvelles qui s'y rapportent."
Mémoires du Muséum d'histoire naturelle, tome neuvième (1822), Plate 4, between pages 41-42: Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34824450

Precipitation and Irrigation Map of Sri Lanka
Russell R. Ross and Andrea Matles Savada, eds., Sri Lanka: A Country Study (October 1988), Figure 4, page 66: Library of Congress Federal Research Division, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sri_Lanka_Precipitation_and_Irrigation_map.png; via Library of Congress @ https://www.loc.gov/item/89600372/ (specific image URL @ https://www.loc.gov/resource/frdcstdy.srilankacountrys00ross/?sp=108)

Jackfruits (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
Kandy, Central Province, central Sri Lanka: Aidan Jones, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/aidan_jones/1235839586/

Knuckles Mountain Range
Central Province, Sri Lanka: Astronomyinertia, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knuckles_Range.JPG

Golden Dry-Zone Palm Civet's human synecology: Ruwanwelisaya stupa
Anuradhapura, North Central Province, Sri Lanka: Lankapic, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ruwanwelisaya.jpg

Golden Dry-Zone Palm Civet's human synecology: Adam's Bridge, also known as Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu
Adam's Bridge, as seen from the air, looking west over Sri Lanka: Arun Ganesh (Planemad), CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adams_Bridge_aerial.jpg

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