Schouteden's Genets (Genetta schoutedeni): Ringtails of Central, East, and West Sub-Saharan Africa

Nocturnal biology and unfrequented terrain sometimes account for some of the mystery in elusive mammalian life cycles and natural histories. Smithsonian National Natural History Museum mammalogist Dr. Kristofer M. Helgen's announced discovery in 2013 of South America's olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina) near savvy but unsuspecting locals attests to that deep truth. Other times reclusive mammals go detected but misclassified. For example, the first formal description of Schouteden's genets (Genetta schoutedeni) to specialists outside Africa originates in 1902 with the identification by Georg Friedrich Paul Matschie (August 11, 1861 – March 7, 1926), as:

• Brandenburg an der Havel-born German mathematician and natural scientist;

• Museum für Naturkunde (Berlin Zoological Museum) curator, mammalogist, professor, and second director;

• Säugethiere (“Mammals”) publisher.   

Sixty-eight years after the Matschie description comes the formal identification in 1970 of a genet specimen by Dr. João Crawford-Cabral, as:

• Centro di Zoologia do Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (Zoology Center of the Tropical Science Research Institute) director at Rua Junqueira 86, Lisbon, Portugal;

• Specialist in the distribution, ecology, and systematics of Angola's mammals;

• Specialist in genet taxonomy.

Thirty-five years later, genetic advances and scientific breakthroughs confirm the identicalness of the suahelica specimen from 1902 and the schoutedeni specimen from 1970 and the likelihood of the genet in question constituting a separate species. The conclusion and the recommendation represent the diligent intelligence of Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (“National Natural History Museum”) mammalogist Dr. Philippe Gaubert.  

The two most dispersed and familiar genets are the African – Eurasian common small-spotted (Genetta genetta) and the rusty-spotted panther (G. maculata). Individually and together, they also claim the most number of genet subspecies. Multiple subspecies and wide-ranging bio-geographies demand regularly subjecting specimens to re-scrutiny. For example, the computer capabilities and the genetic analyses available in the twenty-first century help scientists to move from the domain of what appears to be true into the realm of what is true. It therefore is possible to examine whether a species really has a number of similar appearing and behaving subspecies populating vast tracts or whether some subspecies express different, previously undetected attributes which nevertheless warrant upgrading to species status. 

The world's known wildlife ideally answers to two types of names:

• Common, popular, trivial or vernacular designations from local usage;

• Latin, scientific or taxonomic identifications per scientific consensus.

Common names can involve one word or many. Scientific names do not limit themselves to Latin but also may include Greek and mixed Greek and Latin terminologies. They follow binomial (“two-name”) and trinomial (“three-name”) nomenclatures according to whether the classification ends with the genus and the species or whether it extends to the subspecies. For example, the rusty-spotted panther genet's binomial classification is Genetta maculata, which literally means “large-spotted genet.” The trinomial classification may be illustrated by any of the rusty-spotted panther genet's subspecies, such as Genetta maculata schoutedeni. 

Schouteden's genets honor Henri Schouteden (July 9, 1881 – November 15, 1972), as:

• Brussels-born Belgian natural scientist;

• Congo specimen collector;

• Musée d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée du Congo belge, and Université coloniale de Belgique zoologist.

They live semi-sympatrically (“same-rangingly”) with 8 genet species. Their bio-geographies overlap with:

• Abyssinian genets (G. abyssinica): Ethiopia, Sudan;

• Common genets: Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda;

• Giant genets (G. victoriae): Congo-Kinshasa, Uganda;

• King genets (G. poensis): Congo-Brazzaville, Ghana;

• Letabae genets (G. letabae): Mozambique;

• Miombo genets (G. angolensis): Angola, Congo-Kinshasa, Mozambique, Tanzania;

• Panther genets: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Centrafrique, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda;

• Servaline genets (G. servalina): Cameroon, Centrafrique, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda. 

Bio-geographical overlaps sometimes accommodate similar habitats and other times articulate different niches. For example, Abyssinian genets alone claim:

• High-altitude grass- and moor-lands;

• Less arid pockets within deserts;

• Steppes.

Only miombo genets consider as home Brachystegia tree-dominated woodlands. But unlike Abyssinian genets, they do not reject other terrestrial configurations. So Schouteden's genets never merge territorially with Abyssinian genets. But they sometimes overlap with miombo genets. They in fact share preferences for :

• Forest – savannah mosaics, along with giant, letabae, miombo, panther, and servaline genets;

• Montane forests, along with panther and servaline genets;

• Rainforests, along with giant, king, panther, and servaline genets;

• Woodland savannahs, along with letabae, panther, and servaline genets. 

All nine semi-sympatric species customize the genet's spotted body and striped tail look. For example, Abyssinian genets do not have chin-area striping. Common genets display bright tail-bands super-wider than dark. King genets exhibit all-dark upper fore-limbs. Miombo genets have dark-backed fore-paws. Servaline genets juxtapose 9 – 11 each of dark and light tail-stripes. But letabae, panther, and Schouteden's genets superficially look alike, with:

• Continuous mid-dorsal/mid-tail line;

• Dark-backed hind-paws and upper-limbs;

• Dark-tipped tail;

• Light fore-paws;

• Short tail-hairs;

• Super-large spots;

• Thin-striped chin;

• Unmerged upper-limb spots.

Further research may uncover identifiers as subtly pivotal as the wider interorbital constriction and the more inflated caudal entotympanic bone by which scientists respectively differentiate letabae and Schouteden genets from panther genets. 

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

Genetta felina
Wroclaw Zoo (Ogród Zoologiczny we Wrocławiu), Lower Silesia, southwestern Poland: Guérin Nicolas, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genetta_genetta_felina_(Wroclaw_zoo).JPG

Georg Friedrich Paul Matschie
1901 image: Zeitschrift "Berliner Leben", Heft 09 ("Berliner Leben" magazine, issue 9): Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Matschie_(BerlLeben_1901-09).JPG

deux genettes communes (Genetta genetta), parc animalier des Pyrénées, Argelès-Gazost, Hautes-Pyrénées, France: Père Igor, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genette_Argelès-Gazost_parc_animalier_(1).JPG

Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale: Tervuren municipality, Flamish Brabant province, north central Belgium: EmDee, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Musée_royal_de_l'Afrique_centrale_20.JPG

illustration by J. (Joseph) Smit (July 18, 1836-Dec. 4, 1929); Oldfield Thomas, "On the More Notable Mammals Obtained by Sir Harry Johnston in the Uganda Protectorate."
Proceedings of General Meetings for Scientific Business of Zoological Society of London, vol. II (May 21, 1901), Pl. V, opp. p. 85: Biodiversity Heritage Library (BioDivLib), Public Domain, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/50268403162/

Genetta servalina in Cameroon: Andrew Self (Andrewself at English Wikipedia), CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Servaline_Genet.jpg

Angolan Genet (Genetta angolensis), also known as Miombo Genet for association with miombo ecosystem
Xesko, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons: Xesko, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genetta_angolensis.jpg; via Encyclopedia of Life @ https://eol.org/pages/328094/media

Rusty-Spotted Panther Genet (Genetta maculata): Little Kwara camp on Okavengo Delta, northwestern Botswana: The Lilac Breasted Roller from Sullivan's Island, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Genet_botswana.jpg

mouth of Congo River: Kwanda Island, near Soyo, northwestern Angola: Falcanary, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kwandagrassland.jpg

typical Bandundu savanna village, Bandundu Province, west central Democratic Republic of Congo: Nick Hobgood from Cap-Haitien, Haiti, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Typical_Bandundu_savanna_village.jpg

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