A genet (pronounced or ) is a member of the genus Genetta, which consists of 17 species of small African carnivorans. The common genet is the only genet present in Europe and occurs in the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and France.
Genet fossils from the Late Miocene and later have been found at sites in Ethiopia, Kenya and Morocco.
Classification
Genetta was named and described by Frédéric Cuvier in 1816. The number of species in the genus is controversial. The following were proposed as valid in 2005:
Extinct species
Genetta nyakitongwer – Early Pleistocene of Kenya
Genetta plesictoides – Late Pleistocene of Cyprus
Genetta and Poiana are estimated to have diverged about . Genetta species are estimated to have diverged at least starting with the Hausa genet, followed by the giant genet .
Characteristics
Genets are slender cat-like animals with a long body, a long ringed tail, large ears, a pointed muzzle and partly retractile claws. Their fur is spotted, but melanistic genets have also been recorded. They have musk glands and anal sacs. They also have perineal glands.
All genet species have a dark stripe along the spine; they differ in fur color and spot pattern. Their size varies between species from in head-to-body length with long tails; their tails are almost as long as head and body. They have large eyes with elliptical pupils; the iris is about the color of the fur. They can move their eyes within their sockets to a limited extent, and move their heads to focus on moving objects. Their pinnae have a fine layer of hair inside and outside. They can move the pinnae by about 80° from pointing forward to the side, and also from an erect position to pointing downwards. Their rhinarium is important for both sensing smell and touch.
Distribution and habitat
All genet species are indigenous to Africa. The common genet was introduced to southwestern Europe during historical times. It was brought from the Maghreb to the Mediterranean region as a semi-domestic animal about 1000 to 1500 years ago, and from there spread to southern France and Italy. In Africa, it inhabits wooded habitats north of the Sahara, in savanna zones south of the Sahara to southern Africa and along the coast of Arabia, Yemen and Oman.
The Cape genet is endemic to fynbos, grassland and coastal forests in South Africa.
The South African small-spotted genet lives in woodland savanna, grassland, thickets, dry vlei areas in Angola, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.
The rusty-spotted genet is widely distributed in sub-Saharan woodland savannah, savannah-forest mosaic, rain forest and montane forest up to an elevation of in Ethiopia.
The pardine genet lives in primary and secondary rainforests, gallery forests, moist woodlands, but also in plantations and suburban areas ranging from Senegal to the Volta River in Ghana.
The Abyssinian genet has been recorded in montane dry forest up to in Ethiopia.
The King genet is restricted to rainforest in the Congo Basin, Bioko Island, Ghana and Liberia.
The servaline genet lives in Central African lowland forests to high-altitude bamboo forest and coral rag thicket on Zanzibar.
The Angolan genet inhabits open miombo forest from Angola to central Tanzania.
The giant forest genet lives in rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Uganda.
The Hausa genet inhabits savannah and moist woodlands in West Africa.
G. letabae has been recorded in woodland savannah in Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.
Johnston's genet inhabits dense rainforest in Upper Guinea.
The aquatic genet inhabits rainforests between the Congo River and the Rift Valley.
The crested servaline genet is endemic to Nigeria and Cameroon, where it inhabits scrub and primary deciduous forests.
Schouteden's genet inhabits rainforest, woodland savannah and savannah-forest mosaic in tropical Africa.
Bourlon's genet lives only in the Upper Guinean rainforests in West Africa.
Ecology and behavior
Genets are highly agile, have quick reflexes and exceptional climbing skills. They are the only viverrids able to stand on their hind legs. They walk, trot, run, climb up and down trees, and jump. They live on the ground, but also spend much of their time in trees. They are considered solitary, except during mating and when females have offspring.
They are omnivorous and opportunistically catch invertebrates and small vertebrates, but also feed on plants and fruit. Aquatic genets feed mainly on fish. Angolan genets are thought to feed on grasshoppers and other arthropods. Johnston's genet probably feeds mainly on insects.