Communication has not been reported for this species. However, other viverrids are known to make some vocalizations. They also communicate through scent cues. Tactile communication is typically important between mates as well as between a mother and her young.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
As is the case for may small, raindforest animals, the major threat to P. pardicolor is loss of habitat through clear-cut logging and conversion of forests to agriculture. However, because of its beautiful fur, hunting also threatens its survival.
US Federal List: endangered
CITES: appendix i
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
There is no reported negative effect of these animals on humans.
These animals are not thought to have any real economic impact on humans. Unlike other viverrids, spotted linsangs lack perineal glands so are not exploited for civet.
Spotted linsangs are arboreal predators of insects and small vertebrates. As such, they probably impact the populations of these animals.
Spotted linsangs feed mainly on rodents, but also eat birds, insects, small reptiles, frogs, eggs, and carrion. In addition to meat, these viverrids are known to eat fruit.
Animal Foods: birds; mammals; amphibians; eggs; carrion ; insects
Plant Foods: fruit
Primary Diet: carnivore (Eats terrestrial vertebrates)
Prionodon pardicolor is native to most of mainland Southeast Asia, from India (Assam) to Vietnam, but has disappeared from much of its former range. It is no longer found in Sikkim and Thailand.
Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native )
Spotted linsangs occupy dense tropical forests. They have also been seen in areas with drier conditions.
Range elevation: 200 (high) m.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest
A captive P. linsang lived for 10 years and 8 months. No data are available for P. pardicolor.
Prionodon pardicolor is a long, thin, cat-like, arboreal carnivore. It is 38 to 41 cm long from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail. The tail is 33 to 35 cm long. There are no reported differences in size between males and females. The head resembles that of a fox, but has a longer muzzle. The large, dark eyes see well at night. Hearing is acute and the pointy ears are highly mobile. The soft, dense fur feels like velvet and is cryptically colored with spots arranged in longitudinal rows. Individuals vary in coat color from orange-buff to pale brown. The long and fluffy tail is banded with eight to ten dark rings. The large, well padded feet are covered with short hair and have retractile claws. The front paws have claw sheaths, but the hind feet have protective lobes of skin. The complete covering of the legs by hair helps to distinguish linsangs from other members of the family Viverridae. In addition, these animals lack a perineal gland, and the second upper molars are missing.
Average mass: 595 g.
Range length: 38 to 41 cm.
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Predators have not been reported for this species.
The mating system of these animals has not been reported.
Spotted linsangs have one breeding season in February and a second in August. Individual females can produce one or two litters per year. Although no details are available on the reproductive cycle of P. pardicolor, the estrus cycle for banded linsangs (P. linsang), a related species, is 11 days. Litters of two are common. Newborn weight for P. linsang is 40 g. The young are hidden in tree or root hollows lined with dried vegetation, where they may stay until weaning. It is unknown if their mother teaches the young to hunt.
Further details on the reproduction of this species are not available. It is unknown when animals are weaned, when they disperse, at what age they reach sexual maturity, and at what age they first breed.
Breeding interval: Spotted linsangs are able to breed twice annually
Breeding season: February and August
Range number of offspring: 1 to 2.
Average number of offspring: 2.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous
Like most carnivores, the young of this species are born helpless. A mother hides her young in tree or root hollows lined with dried vegetation, where they may stay until weaning. It is not known whether the mother teaches the young to hunt.
In addition to seeing that her offspring are in a safe location, the mother provides the young with milk. It is not known whether or not the male provides parental care in this species.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; altricial ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
The spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor) is a linsang, a tree-dwelling carnivorous mammal, native to much of Southeast Asia. It is widely, though usually sparsely, recorded, and listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.[2]
The spotted linsang resembles the banded linsang in its long, slender body, short limbs, elongated neck and head, and long tail. The ground colour ranges from dusky brown to light buff. Two long stripes extend from behind the ears to the shoulders or beyond, and two shorter stripes run along the neck. Three to four longitudinal rows of spots adorn the back, their size decreasing towards the belly. The fore legs are spotted to the paw, the hind legs to the hock. The cylindrical tail has eight or nine broad dark rings, separated by narrow white rings. The feet have five digits, and the area between the pads is covered with hair. The claws are retractile, claw sheaths are present on the fore paws, but the hind-paws have protective lobes of skin.[3] It weighs about 0.45 kg (1 lb) and measures in length about 360–380 mm (14–15 in) with a 30–33 cm (12–13 in) long tail. Its height is about 13–14 cm (5–5.5 in), the girth of its chest 14.6 cm (5.75 in), and length of head to the occiput about 7.6 cm (3 in).[4]
The range of the spotted linsang includes eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Assam and Bengal in India, Bhutan, northeastern Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam, and western Sichuan, Yunnan Guizhou and southwestern Guangxi in southern China. It is uncommon to rare throughout this range.[3] It is rarely observed in northern Bengal.[5] It primarily inhabits evergreen forests and shrubland. A large portion of this habitat is not protected, and this may cause the spotted linsang to be threatened with extinction due to habitat loss.[6] In Nam Et-Phou Louey National Biodiversity Conservation Area, it was observed in secondary vegetation dominated by banana stands in 2017.[7]
The spotted linsang is nocturnal, solitary, and at least partly arboreal.[8] It uses hollows in trees as resting and denning sites.[4] It hunts on the ground and in trees and feeds on rodents, frogs and snakes. It has also been observed feeding on carcass.[3]
The Asiatic linsangs (Prionodon) are not, as was traditionally thought, members of the Viverridae (which does include the African linsangs), and may instead be the closest living relatives of the family Felidae. They have been placed in their own family, the Prionodontidae.[9]
The spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor) is a linsang, a tree-dwelling carnivorous mammal, native to much of Southeast Asia. It is widely, though usually sparsely, recorded, and listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
