Cryptoprocta ferox

– Endangered

Taxonomy

Kingdom:

ANIMALIA

Phylum:

CHORDATA

Class:

MAMMALIA

Order:

CARNIVORA

Family:

EUPLERIDAE

Scientific Name:

Cryptoprocta ferox

Species Authority:

Bennett, 1833

Common Name/s:

English	—	FOSSA
French	—	CRYPTOPROCTE FÉROCE, FOSSA, FOUSSA
Spanish	—	GATO FOSSA DE MADAGASCAR

Taxonomic Notes:

Family name was Viverridae, changed to Eupleridae. Wozencraft in the new Wilson and Reeder (2005) says: "The malagasy carnivores have been problematic since their discovery. They have been placed in the Viverridae, the Herpestidae, and separated into monotypic families. Bininda-Edmons et al. (1999) considered these taxa a monophyletic group. Few have questioned that Fossa and Eupleres are more closely related to each other than to Cryptoprocta. Hunt (2001) placed Cryptoprocta in a separate taxon." Crytoproctidae was proposed initially as a family name for this group, but subseqient work by Wozencraft and collegaues has shown that based on both molecular and morphological evidence, the Fossa is best placed in the Eupleridae.

Assessment Information

Red List Category & Criteria:

EN C2a ver 2.3 (1994)

Year Assessed:

2000

Assessor/s:

Dollar, L. (Mustelid, Viverrid & Procyonid Specialist Group)

Evaluator/s:

Wirth, R. & Van Rompaey, H. (Mustelid, Viverrid & Procyonid Red List Authority)

Justification:

The previous listing of Vulnerable was based on a small extent of occurrence and a low number of fragmented localities containing a declining number of mature individuals (Baillie and Groombridge 1996). Now listed as Endangered based on estimates of a population size of less than 2,500 mature individuals in fragmented areas in continuing decline. The RAMAS® Red List software package was used to make this assessment.

History:

1986	-	Vulnerable (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986)
1988	-	Insufficiently Known (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988)
1990	-	Insufficiently Known (IUCN 1990)
1994	-	Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994)
1996	-	Vulnerable (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)

Geographic Range

Range Description:	The population occurs in fragmented areas in continuing decline, and with a total known occupied territory of 1,050,503 ha.
Countries:	Native: Madagascar

Population

Population:	Population size estimated to be <2,500 mature individuals.
Population Trend:

Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology:

Found in rainforests throughout the island except for the central high plateau.

System:

Terrestrial

List of Habitats:

1.5	Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry

Threats

Threats:

Persecuted as a chicken thief and affected by habitat loss.

List of Threats:

1.3.3	Habitat Loss/Degradation - Extraction - Wood (ongoing)
5	Persecution (ongoing)

Conservation Actions

Conservation Actions:

Occurs in a large number of protected areas and is the subject of a successful ex situ captive breeding programme.

Bibliography

Bibliography:

Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Dollar, L. 1999. Preliminary report on the status, activity cycle and ranging of Cryptoprocta ferox in the Malagasy rainforest, with implications for conservation. Small Carnivore Conservation. The Newsletter and Journal of the IUCN/SSC Mustelid, Viverrid and Procyonid Specialist Group 20:7-10.

Dollar, L. 2000. Assessing IUCN classifications of poorly-known species: Madagascar's carnivores as a case study. Small Carnivore Conservation. The Newsletter and Journal of the IUCN/SSC Mustelid, Viverrid and Procyonid Specialist Group 22:17-20.

Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Hilton-Taylor, C. (compiler). 2000. 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1988. 1988 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.

Schreiber, A., Wirth, R., Riffel, M. and Van Rompaey, H. 1989. Weasels, Civets, Mongooses and their Relatives. An Action Plan for the Conservation of Mustelids and Viverrids. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

Citation:	Dollar, L. 2000. Cryptoprocta ferox. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 29 August 2008.
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