The Gem-faced Civet occurring in the central part of Honshu

Abstract

The Gem-faced Civet, Paguma larvata, belonging to the Viverridae occurs in southwestern China, Formosa, Indo, Malay, Borneo and Burma. It is divided into eleven subspecies. It has been captured in Yamanashi Prefecture frequently since a few years ago and once in Shizuoka Pref. In the villages of Kunado, Tomisato, Furuseki and Okochi, Nishiyatsushiro-gun, Yamanashi Pref. (see Fig. I), one or two individuals of them have been obtained in every hunting season. The writer got one male which had been captured at Furuseki Village on February 21, 1954. Its measurements are given in Table 1. Some chestnuts and four seeds of the wild pear were found in its stomach.
A pair of the animals was captured in the suburbs of Shizuoka City in Shizuoka Pref, . in December of 1950. In fact, not a few of them are likely to occur in this area, because most hunters know the habits and habitats of this animal. It seems that this animal was imported some fifty years ago, and has become naturalized in Japan.