Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Cladus: Cynodontia
Cladus: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohors: Theria
Cohors: Eutheria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Cladus: Boreoeutheria
Superordo: Laurasiatheria
Cladus: Scrotifera
Cladus: Ferungulata
Cladus: Ferae
Cladus: Pancarnivora
Cladus: Carnivoramorpha
Cladus: Carnivoraformes
Ordo: Carnivora
Subordo: Feliformia
Familia: Viverridae
Subfamilia: Viverrinae
Genus: Poiana
Species: Poiana leightoni
Name
Poiana leightoni (Pocock, 1908)
References
Poiana leightoni in Mammal Species of the World.
Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn M. (Editors) 2005. Mammal Species of the World – A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third edition. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.
Vernacular names
Deutsch: Westafrikanischer Linsang
English: Leighton's Linsang
español: Oyán occidental
français: Poiane de Leighton
magyar: Nyugat-afrikai pojána
日本語: レイトンリンサン
The West African oyan (Poiana leightoni), also known as the West African linsang, is a linsang species native to the Upper Guinean forests in West Africa.[1] It is one of the least known small carnivores in Africa.[3]
Characteristics
The West African oyan's body is slender and long, with an elongated head and a pointed muzzle. Its fur is yellowish to reddish brown with dark oval shaped spots on the neck, and small spots on the back and legs. Its throat, chest and belly are lighter in colour and without spots. Its tail has 10 to 12 dark rings. Its body is 30–38 cm (12–15 in) long, with a 35–40 cm (14–16 in) long tail.[3]
Distribution and habitat
The West African oyan inhabits the canopy of tropical forests in West Africa. Two known records in the Ivory Coast date to the 1960s and 1970s. In Liberia, it was recorded in ten localities between the 1960s and late 1980s. Its presence in Sierra Leone and Guinea is uncertain.[3][1]
Threats
The West African oyan is probably affected by habitat loss due to logging of tropical forests, and by hunting for bushmeat.[1]
Taxonomy
The West African oyan was first described—in a paper read at the 26 November 1907 meeting of the Zoological Society of London and published the following May—by Reginald Innes Pocock, based on a zoological specimen collected in Liberia.[2][4] Pocock considered it a subspecies of the Central African oyan, the trinomial in the original orthography being Poiana richardsoni leightoni, Poiana richardsoni liberiensis being printed in error.[2][4] In 1974, Donovan Reginald Rosevear elevated "Leighton's linsang" from subspecies to independent species rank.[4]
References
Gaubert, P.; Do Linh San, E. (2015). "Poiana leightoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T44165A45220840. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T44165A45220840.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
Pocock, R. I. (1907). "Report upon a Small Collection of Mammalia brought from Liberia by Mr. Leonard Leighton". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 77 (November): 1037–1046. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1907.tb06966.x.
Van Rompaey, H. & Colyn, M. (2013). "Poiana leightoni West African Linsang (West African Oyan)". In Kingdon, J. & Hoffmann, M. (eds.). The Mammals of Africa. V. Carnivores, Pangolins, Equids and Rhinoceroses. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 251−252.
Rosevear, D. R. [in German] (1974). The carnivores of West Africa. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). p. 227.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
