Salanoia concolor Gray 1865
Creators: name: Wilson, Don E.
name: Mittermeier, Russell A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Eupleridae
Salanoia
Salanoia concolor

description: 8. Brown-tailed Vontsira Salanoia concolor French: Galidie unicolore / German: Schlichtmungo / Spanish: Galidia parda Other common names: Brown-tailed Mongoose, Salano, Vontsira Boko, Tabiboala, Fanaloka Taxonomy. Galidia concolor Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1837, Madagascar. The specific names olivacea and wunicolor are synonyms. Monotypic. Distribution. E Madagascar. Records from the extreme south-east, in Andohahela, or from the far north, at Montagne d’Ambre, are not considered valid. Descriptive notes. Head-body 35-38 cm, tail 16-20 cm, hindfoot 6.6-7 cm, ear 2: 9 cm; weight 780 g. In numerous ways this species is similar to Ring-tailed Vontsira, with which is sympatric, but is uniformly darker. It has a short dark dorsal pelage, with pale-tipped hairs giving an agouti appearance. The underside, including the inner thighs, is reddish-brown merging to a whitish-gray around the chin and mouth. The uniform dark brown and slightly bushy tail is shorter than the head and body. No sexual differences have been noted in coloration orsize. Habitat. The known range is in the eastern humid forest across an elevational range from near sea level to around 1000 m. Previous information indicated that it was relatively common in the region of Mananara and the Masoala Peninsula. However, few recent details are available aboutits distribution and it remains the least known native carnivore in Madagascar. Food and Feeding. Little information is available. At the Réserve Spéciale de Betampona, a lowland eastern humid forest in east-central Madagascar, Brown-tailed Vontsira was observed on eight occasions feeding on beetle larvae that it extracted from rotten wood with its sharp straight claws. It was also observed foraging in leaflitter. This species 1s also known to climb in trees 5-10 m off the ground, where it presumably forages for invertebrates in a fashion similar to Ring-tailed Vontsira. It is reputed by rural villagers to feed on poultry; however, given its apparent arthropod diet and slightly reduced dentition, this is questionable. These poultry raids may actually be conducted by the similar-looking Ring-tailed Vontsira. On the basis of a comparative study conducted at Betampona, where Brown-tailed Vontsira and Ring-tailed Vontsira occur in sympatry, a number of differences were noted in prey type and habitat utilization that might reduce competitive interactions between them. Certain dietary and morphological and behavioral aspects of Brown-tailed Vontsira are notably similar to Narrow-striped Boky of the central western dry deciduous forests. Activity patterns. Current evidence indicates that this species is strictly diurnal, being active in the early morning and with another bout of activity in the late afternoon. When foraging, Brown-tailed Vontsira will occasionally emit guttural squeaks and growls, but it is often silent. If alarmed it produces loud growls and at the same time erects the tail fur. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Little is known about the social organization of this species. At Betampona, it was frequently observed singly or in pairs. There are records of groups of three individuals; generally one is notably smaller than the other two and presumed to be their offspring. It has been estimated that family groups occupy home ranges of approximately 20 ha, but this needs to be verified with field studies. Breeding. Infants are born between November and January and it is suspected that young remain with their parents for one year after birth. Status and Conservation. Listed in The IUCN Red List as Vulnerable. At Betampona, close to 93% of observations of Brown-tailed Vontsira were in intact forest, often on ridge tops, and the balance were in areas of secondary vegetation and cultivated zones. In 1876 Audebert made a collection of animals in the Mahambo, north of Toamasina, which included Brown-tailed Vontsira. This site, which no longer has any natural forest, is within a few kilometers of the station Forestiere de Tampolo, where rapid biological inventories took place in 1997 and 2004. On two occasions a small, terrestrial, diurnal Carnivora that had the characteristics of Brown-tailed Vontsira was observed in the Tampolo littoral forest. Further, this species is well known to local research assistants working at the station. It seems that remnant populations can withstand certain levels of human habitat degradation, at least in the short-term. Bibliography. Albignac (1973), Britt (1999), Britt &amp; Virkaitis (2003), Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (SSC / IUCN) (2002), Goodman, Soarimalala &amp; Ratsirarson (2005), Grandidier &amp; Petit (1932), IUCN (2007), Schreiber et al. (1989), Wozencraft (1986), ZICOMA (1999).
description: Published as part of <i>Don E. Wilson &amp; Russell A. Mittermeier, 2009, Eupleridae, pp. 330-351 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 1 Carnivores, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions</i> on page 351, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5676533