The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Small Carnivores

....and that is the Mustelidae completed :p I have hyperlinked each post discussing a subfamily/lineage within the introductory post for the Mustelidae, to allow easier reference to a specific group. Where appropriate I will do similar for forthcoming families of small carnivore.

Considering how diverse the family is - 61 species - I am both gratified and surprised to note that photographs representing 48 species are present within the Zoochat gallery. Many of the remaining species are either extremely rare, very little-known or both - and as such it is unlikely that they have been photographed by Zoochatters or will be in the future. However, there are a few which I think potentially could be posted to the gallery either due to future sightings by Zoochatters, or existing photographs which have not been uploaded as yet.

As such, I think it is worthy noting those species still needing photographs:

Nilgiri Marten (Martes gwatkinsii)
Bornean Ferret-badger (Melogale everetti)
Vietnam Ferret-badger (Melogale cucphuongensis)
Patagonian Weasel (Lyncodon patagonicus)
Amazon Weasel (Mustela africana)
Steppe Polecat (Mustela eversmannii)
Colombian Weasel (Mustela felipei)
Yellow-bellied Weasel (Mustela kathiah)
Indonesian Mountain Weasel (Mustela lutreolina)
Malayan Weasel (Mustela nudipes)
Back-striped Weasel (Mustela strigidorsa)
Egyptian Weasel (Mustela subpalmata)
Congo Clawless Otter (Aonyx congicus)

Those highlighted in bold are the species which I feel are most likely to have been photographed by Zoochatters - but any of the above would be great additions to this photographic guide!
 
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PROCYONIDAE


This family comprises six genera, forming a pair of major lineages, along with a single monotypic basal lineage; these are as follows:

Potos - Kinkajou (monotypic)

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Bassariscus - Cacomistles (2 species)

Procyon - Raccoons (3 species)

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Bassaricyon - Olingos (4 species)

Nasua - Lowland Coatis (2 species)

Nasuella - Mountain Coatis (2 species)
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Potos


Kinkajou (P. flavus)

The range of this species extends from southern Mexico throughout Central America to Bolivia east of the Andes and southeastern Brazil.

Photo by @bongorob

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*edits underway*
 
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Bassariscus


Ringtail (B. astutus)

The range of this species extends throughout the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Photo by @KevinVar

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Cacomistle (B. sumichrasti)

The range of this species extends throughout Central America from southern Mexico south to Panama.

Photo by @AluxesEcoparque

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(edits underway)
 
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Procyon


Common Raccoon (P. lotor)

The native range of this species extends throughout North and Central America from central Canada in the north to Panama in the south; moreover, there are introduced populations throughout Europe, the Caucasus and Japan.

Photo by @ro6ca66

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Crab-eating Raccoon (P. cancrivorus)

The range of this species extends through much of Central America and South America, from Costa Rica in the north down to northern Argentina and Uruguay in the south.

Photo by @devilfish

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Cozumel Raccoon (P. pygmaeus)

The range of this species is restricted to Cozumel Island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.

(edits underway)
 
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An absolutely fascinating thread, and very helpful in highlighting similarities/ differences between related species. I wasn't aware, for instance, of just how different the grison species look!

Although I've seen many Egyptian weasels and had my best ever sighting this January, I've never managed to take a proper photo. Maybe next time I'll set live traps - they're considered an urban pest in many cities.

Are you sure about the otter you've labelled as a Southern river otter? I was under the impression it's a neotropical otter, just from the southern end of the species' range.
 
Bassaricyon


Eastern Lowland Olingo (B. alleni)

The range of this species extends throughout the lowlands of South America east of the Andes, from Colombia and Venezuela in the north to Bolivia in the south.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Northern Olingo (B. gabbii)

The range of this species extends throughout Central America from southern Honduras in the north, to central Panama in the south.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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Western Lowland Olingo (B. medius)

The range of this species extends through southern Central America into South America, from central Panama in the north to Colombia and Ecuador west of the Andes in the south.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Olinguito (B. neblina)

The range of this species is restricted to the Andes of western Colombia and Ecuador.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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*edits underway*
 
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Nasua


Ring-tailed Coati (N. nasua)

The range of this species extends throughout tropical and sub-tropical South America east of the Andes, from Colombia and Venezuela in the north to Uruguay in the south.

Photo by @Zambar

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White-nosed Coati (N. narica)


The range of this species extends across North and Central America, from the southwestern United States in the north to the Colombia/Panama border in the south.

Photo by @Tomek

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(edits underway)
 
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Nasuella


Eastern Mountain Coati (N. meridensis)

The range of this species is restricted to the Andes of western Venezuela.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Western Mountain Coati (N. olivacea)

The range of this species is restricted to the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador.

Photo by @devilfish

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(edits underway)
 
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devilfish said:
Although I've seen many Egyptian weasels and had my best ever sighting this January, I've never managed to take a proper photo. Maybe next time I'll set live traps - they're considered an urban pest in many cities.
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Hehe, even an improper photo would be better than nothing :p after all, there are one or two dodgy shots in the photos already posted on this thread.

devilfish said:
Are you sure about the otter you've labelled as a Southern river otter? I was under the impression it's a neotropical otter, just from the southern end of the species' range.
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You might well be correct, but I thought I'd play it safe as I just knew if I omitted it someone would nonetheless call me out on the omission :p
 
The Procyonidae is not too badly-represented in the Zoochat gallery it seems, with photographs of 9 species present and only 5 still unrepresented. Of these, some will be more likely than others to be uploaded in the future - for instance, I won't hold my breath for Eastern Mountain Coati - but it is nonetheless worth noting them down on the off-chance someone is hanging onto an old photo or two:

Eastern Mountain Coati (Nasuella meridensis)
Eastern Lowland Olingo (B. alleni)
Western Lowland Olingo (B. medius)
Olinguito (B. neblina)
Cozumel Raccoon (P. pygmaeus)

Of these, the most likely are the Eastern Lowland Olingo - displayed at Kilverstone into the 1990s - and oddly enough the Olinguito, which although only described a few years ago was displayed at several zoological collections in the United States in the 1970s. Who knows - we might have an older member or two who may benefit from rooting through their old photographs :p
 
AILURIDAE


This family comprises a single monotypic genus:

Ailurus


Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens)

The range of this species extends across the eastern Himalayas into southwestern China.

Photo by @devilfish

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ThylacineAlive said:
Pretty sure the type specimen for Olinguito lived at Smithsonian National Zoological Park.

~Thylo
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It did - along with several other collections in the USA :p as I understand the story, the female was moved from collection to collection throughout the 1960s and 1970s when she wouldn't breed with the various Olingos kept at them.
 
I had always assumed the honey badger and the grisons were more closely related due to the similarities in pelage and overall body shape (although I've never seen a grison).
 
MEPHITIDAE


This family comprises 12 species within four genera:

Conepatus


Molina's Hog-nosed Skunk (C. chinga)

The range of this species extends across much of central and southern South America from Bolivia in the north to central Argentina and Chile in the south.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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Humboldt's Hog-nosed Skunk (C. humboldtii)

The range of this species extends across the Patagonian regions of Argentina and Chile.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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American Hog-nosed Skunk (C. leuconotus)

The range of this species extends from the southern United States into Mexico and Central America, as far south as Nicaragua.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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Striped Hog-nosed Skunk (C. semistriatus)

The range of this species extends through Central and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Peru, with a disjunct population found in the extreme east of Brazil.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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Mephitis


Hooded Skunk (M. macroura)

The range of this species extends from the southern United States throughout Mexico and into Central America as far south as Nicaragua.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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Striped Skunk (M. mephitis)

The range of this species extends throughout North America, from southern Canada and the United States as far south as northern Mexico.

Photo by @KevinB

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Mydaus


Sunda Stink Badger (M. javanensis)

The range of this species extends throughout Java, Sumatra and Borneo.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.


Palawan Stink Badger (M. marchei)

The range of this species extends throughout the Philippine islands of Palawan, Busuanga and Calauit.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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Spilogale


Southern Spotted Skunk (S. angustifrons)

The range of this species extends throughout Central America, from southern Mexico in the north to Costa Rica in the south.

Photo by @carlos77

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Western Spotted Skunk (S. gracilis)

The range of this species extends throughout the western United States, northern Mexico, and southwestern Canada.

Photo by @Giant Eland

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Eastern Spotted Skunk (S. putorius)

The range of this species extends throughout the eastern United States along with scattered populations in the southeast of Canada and extreme northeast of Mexico.

Photo by @ralph

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Pygmy Spotted Skunk (S. pygmaea)

The range of this species is restricted to the Pacific coastline of Mexico.

No photographs of this species have been uploaded by Zoochatters at the time of writing.
 
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Quite impressed with how well represented the Mephitidae is on the Zoochat gallery; of the 12 extant species only two are not depicted within the gallery - although I am somewhat surprised there are so few photographs of the American Hog-nosed Skunk and Hooded Skunk.

Species still in need of representation are as follows:

Pygmy Spotted Skunk (Spilogale pygmaea)
Sunda Stink Badger (Mydaus javanensis)
 
FunkyGibbon said:
I had always assumed the honey badger and the grisons were more closely related due to the similarities in pelage and overall body shape (although I've never seen a grison).
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Having seen the former taxon for the first time a fortnight ago I can now note that in the flesh, the Greater Grison is pretty different to a Honey Badger - it definitely moves like a weasel rather than a badger, if you get my analogy :p even though the Grison isn't a weasel and the Honey Badger isn't a badger!
 
I am offended you've neglected to use any of my photos of some of these species and instead continue to overrepresent GiantEland. I suppose I shall just have to go and photograph some species no one else has seen yet :p

On that note, I am extremely jealous that GE has seen and photographed every hog-nosed skunk while I have failed to see even one :p As for being surprised how few photos there are of both hog-nosed skunks and Hooded Skunks, this would be due to the fact that they're rarely kept in zoos. In fact, I can't say I know of a single collection which keeps either currently, though ASDM frustratingly kept both into recent years.

~Thylo
 
TeaLovingDave said:
White-nosed Coati (N. narica)


The range of this species extends across North and Central America, from the southwestern United States in the north to the Colombia/Panama border in the south.

Photo by @Tomek

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Forgot another introduced population again! :p These are also in Florida.
 
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