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Cladus: Eukaryota Name Eupleres goudotii (Doyere, 1835) References * Eupleres goudotii on Mammal Species of the World. The Falanouc is a mongoose-like mammal endemic Malagasy euplerid (a family of carnivoran mammals).[2]
The Falanouc was first described by Doyère in 1835. Descriptive Notes There are two subspecies of Falanouc, being Eupleres goudotii and Eupleres major. The subspecies Eupleres goudotii has a head-body length of 45.5-49.5 cm, its tail is 22–24 cm, its hindfoot is 8-8.2 cm, its ear is 4-4.4 cm and its weight is 1.6-2.1 kg. The subspecies Eupleres major has a head-body length of 51.5–65 cm, its tail is 24–25 cm, its hindfoot is 8.1-9.2 cm, its ear is 4.7–5 cm and it weighs 2.8-4.6 kg. Falanoucs have massive, elongated bodies, a long, narrow rostrum, notably large feet, prominent ears and a rounded, short and tapered tail. They have very well-developed non-retractable claws on their forelimbs. When walking, falanoucs' claws touch the ground, giving them a sauntering and slow gait. Eupleres goudotii have a uniform reddish-brown on the desne and soft body and tail fur. Their venter is a brownish-beige. Eupleres major is darker in colour, with the tail and dorsum being a dark brown grizzled with grey and the underparts and thighs often have an orange tinge. Falanoucs is classified alongside its closest living relative, the Spotted Fanaloka, in the subfamily Euplerinae in the Genus Eupleres. The Falanouc has several peculiarities which merit its independent classification. It has no anal or perineal glands (unlike the Fanaloka), nonretractile claws, and a unique dentition: the canines and premolars are backwards-curving and flat. This is thought to be related to its prey, mostly invertebrates, such as worms, slugs, snails, and larvae. Habitat Falanoucs live primarily in the lowland rainforests of the centre and northwest of Madagascar. Eupleres goudotii live in elevations from about 50 to 1600 m. Based on limited information, this subspecies seems seems to prefer tracts of upland humid forest with natural aquatic habitats and marshland areas. There are a few observations of these falanoucs in dense mesic forest away from marshland and aquatic habitats. On Montagne d'Ambre in the far north, with some regularity this specieis can be seen in a seasonally flooded open grassy field, close to human habitations that are irregularly used and within 50 m of the forest edge. Feeding and Food Falanoucs' teeth are adapted to a soft-bodied invertebrate diet. Falanoucs show many convergent parallels to a member of the hyena family: the Aardwolf. Its primary food seems to be earthworms, but it is also known to feed on chameleons, frogs, insects and slugs. In captivity Falanoucs will consume small pieces of meat. The long claws of the falanouc are used for scraping items of food from rotten wood or shallow soil, prey is then immobilized with the teeth and jaws. Patterns of Activity Falanoucs are solitary, territorial and cathemeral. Individual falanoucs have been camera-trapped or observed in the middle of the night, during the day and in early morning. When threatened, falanoucs can maintain a freezing position for up to one hour rather than fleeing. Their thin, long front claws are used against potential predators with a lashing action. Individuals have been observed in humid eastern forest in July, indicating that at least in this area they are active during the dry and cold season. Social Orgnanization, Home Range and Movements All known observations in the wild on the falanouc have been of solitary individuals or females with offspring. A falanouc's home range has been proposed to be "very large," but there are no available numeric estimates. The species seems to be largely silent. In captivity there were only two vocalization types that were noted, a spitting call connected with agnostic encounters and a hiccoughing sound that is associated with infant-mother interactions. The life cycle of the Falanouc displays periods of fat buildup during April and May, before the dry months of June and July. Their copulation presumably takes place between August and September and recorded births happened in mid-November. Each litter comprised a single young, though there are reports of two in one litter. Newborns weigh 150g, their eyes are open and their pelage is noticeably darker than adults'. Within two days or even one day the young have the ability to walk normally and after a month they can climb to arboreal sleeping sites. The young are weaned before the next mating season, nine weeks after they are born and shortly thereafter leave their mothers. Falanoucs' reproductive cycle is fast. Though they are fast in gaining mobility (so as to follow its mother on forages), Falanoucs grow at a slower rate than comparatively-sized carnivores. Conversation and Status They are classified as being Vulenrable. Given the secretive habits of the Falanouc and the fact that few field researchers venture into marshland, presumably its preferred habitat, little information is avialable to assess its conservation status. There are fewer than 20 recent locality-based records of Falanoucs in total, and total adult population estimates are impossible to make. Factors in their decline include ongoing habitat degradation and loss, introduced species and hunting pressure for bush meat. Introduced species problems have been cited as outright predation from feral hunting dogs, competition and the Small Indian Civet, but no data have been published that verifies this interaction. Almost all terrestrial mammals on Madagascar are subject to hunting pressure of some form, often localized and it is not clear whether Falanouc is preferred bush meat. ^ Hawkins, A.F.A. (2008). Eupleres goudotii. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of near threatened Sources Macdonald, David (ed). The Encyclopedia of Mammals. (New York, 1984) Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
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