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PLATINUM The Journal of Threatened Taxa (JoTT) is dedicated to building evidence for conservaton globally by publishing peer-reviewed artcles online OPEN ACCESS every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All artcles published in JoTT are registered under Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License unless otherwise mentoned. JoTT allows allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of artcles in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Communication First videos of endemic Zanzibar Servaline Genet Genetta servalina archeri, African Palm Civet Nandinia binotata (Mammalia: Carnivora: Viverridae) and other small carnivores on Unguja Island, Tanzania Helle V. Goldman & Martn T. Walsh 26 August 2019 | Vol. 11 | No. 10 | Pages: 14292–14300 DOI: 10.11609/jot.4729.11.10.14292-14300 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies, and Guidelines visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Artcle Submission Guidelines, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints, contact <[email protected]> The opinions expressed by the authors do not refect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Informaton Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organizaton, or any of the partners. The journal, the publisher, the host, and the part- Publisher & Host ners are not responsible for the accuracy of the politcal boundaries shown in the maps by the authors. Partner Member Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2019 | 11(10): 14292–14300 First videos of endemic Zanzibar Servaline Genet Communication Genetta servalina archeri, African Palm Civet Nandinia binotata (Mammalia: Carnivora: Viverridae) and ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) other small carnivores on Unguja Island, Tanzania PLATINUM Helle V. Goldman 1 & Martn T. Walsh 2 OPEN ACCESS 1 Norwegian Polar Insttute, Fram Centre, PO Box 6606 Langnes, NO-9296 Tromsø, Norway. 2 Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, Barton Road, Cambridge, CB3 9BB, UK. 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected] Abstract: The faunal diversity of the densely populated island of Unguja, Zanzibar archipelago, Tanzania, includes several endemic mammals. Camera-trapping in Jozani-Chwaka Bay Natonal Park and Kiwengwa–Pongwe Forest Reserve in September 2017 captured the frst video footage of the Zanzibar Servaline Genet Geneta servalina archeri, an endemic subspecies frst formally described in 1998. Other natve small carnivores were also recorded on video for the frst tme during this survey, including the African Palm Civet Nandinia binotata, which was frst documented in print as present in Unguja in 2004. Also camera-trapped in 2017 were the Zanzibar Slender Mongoose Herpestes sanguineus rufescens and the Zanzibar Bushy-tailed Mongoose Bdeogale crassicauda tenuis. Follow-up camera- trapping in Jozani-Chwaka Bay Natonal Park in August 2018 captured additonal video of the Zanzibar Servaline Genet and the African Palm Civet. No images were obtained of the African Civet Civetcts civeta, or of the two introduced species—the Banded Mongoose Mungos mungo and the Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica—in either year. As the remaining natural habitat in Zanzibar shrinks in size and becomes fragmented, it is increasingly urgent to document the archipelago’s carnivores and other fauna, so that sound conservaton measures can be implemented. Keywords: Bdeogale crassicauda, Bushy-tailed Mongoose, Herpestes sanguineus, Slender Mongoose, Tanzania, Zanzibar. DOI: htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.4729.11.10.14292-14300 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F7754DB7-2B05-451A-8C2D-8A841628E488 Editor: Kristofer Helgen, University of Adelaide, Australia. Date of publicaton: 26 August 2019 (online & print) Manuscript details: #4729 | Received 21 February 2019 | Final received 01 August 2019 | Finally accepted 11 August 2019 Citaton: Goldman, H.V. & M.T. Walsh (2019). First videos of endemic Zanzibar Servaline Genet Geneta servalina archeri, African Palm Civet Nandinia binotata (Mam- malia: Carnivora: Viverridae) and other small carnivores on Unguja Island, Tanzania. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(10): 14292–14300. htps://doi.org/10.11609/ jot.4729.11.10.14292-14300 Copyright: © Goldman & Walsh 2019. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Funding: Self-funded. Competng interests: The authors declare no competng interests. Author details: Dr Helle V. Goldman is Chief Editor of Polar Research, the Norwegian Polar Insttute’s peer-reviewed journal. Her doctoral study, in anthropology, took place in 1992–93 on the Tanzanian island of Pemba, where she recently returned to investgate family histories. She has been researching wildlife on Unguja intermitently since 1996. Dr Martin T. Walsh is a Senior Member of Wolfson College in the University of Cambridge. His current research focuses on the cultural and natural history of the Zanzibar archipelago and the wider western Indian Ocean region. Author contributon: Both authors took part in the feldwork in 2017. HVG carried out the feldwork in 2018. Both authors analyzed the data and interpreted the results. MTW conceived the idea for the paper, HVG wrote the inital draf, MTW gave critcal input, and the authors revised it together prior to submission and also following its review. Both HVG and MTW approve the published version of the artcle. For Swahili abstract see end of this artcle. Acknowledgements: For facilitatng our work in 2017 and 2018, we would like to express our grattude to Soud Mohammed Juma, Director of the Department of Forestry and Non-renewable Natural Resources, and – at JCBNP – Head Park Warden Ali Ali Mwinyi, Ecologist and Assistant Park Warden Mzee Khamis Mohammed, Senior Forest Guard Vuai Ramadhan, former Senior Forest Guard Shabani Imani Ali, Ecology Ofcer Habib Abdulmajid Shaban, the forest guides and other staf, and – at KPFR – Forest Reserve Head Salim Ali and Staton Assistant Hamisi Omar. We would especially like to thank Mzee Khamis Mohammed for setng out and collectng the camera trap on two days in August 2018. We are also grateful to Hot Snakes Media for providing the cameras used in 2017, to Javed Jaferji and David Alex of Gallery Tours, and, in partcular, to Seif Mbaruk and Salmin Haji, our treless drivers and general problem-fxers. Mohammed Ayoub and his assistants at ZALA Park are thanked for their generosity. Asha Fakhi Khamis and Ahmad Kipacha kindly helped with the Swahili translaton of the abstract; we are responsible for any errors it may contain. 14292 Small carnivores on Unguja Island, Tanzania Goldman & Walsh INTRODUCTION encompasses the island’s only remaining natural, old- growth forest (Robins 1976; Williams et al. 1998; Box The island of Unguja, in the Zanzibar archipelago, 5.5.4 in Rodgers & Burgess 2000) as well as a mosaic hosts several natve carnivore species (Kingdon 1977; of other habitats, including scrub forest, bracken felds, Pakenham 1984; Kingdon & Howell 1993; Van Rompaey saltmarsh grassland, and mangrove forests. Most of the & Colyn 1998; Perkin 2004). Three of these are park’s 50km2 is covered by high and low scrub forest considered endemic subspecies, namely, the Zanzibar (also known as coral rag forest (Siex 2011)) on ground Slender Mongoose Herpestes sanguineus rufescens, the characterized by numerous outcroppings of fossilized Zanzibar Bushy-tailed Mongoose Bdeogale crassicauda coral (Image 1a). The scrub forest comprises such species tenuis, and the Zanzibar Servaline Genet Geneta as Euclea racemosa, Polysphaeria parvifolia, Pachystela servalina archeri, which was frst formally described brevipes, Maytenus mossambicensis, Searsia natalensis, in 1998 (Van Rompaey & Colyn 1998). The remaining Macphersonia gracilis, Annona senegalensis, and two natve carnivores on Unguja are the African Civet Flueggea virosa (Leskinen et al. 1997). This vegetaton Civetcts civeta, which is the island’s largest extant wild cover is classifed as Eastern African Coastal Scrub Forest, carnivore, and the African Palm Civet Nandinia binotata. in Clarke’s scheme (Clarke 2000). Some 4km2 of the park The later was frst observed by a biologist during a is groundwater forest that foods during the annual heavy survey in 1998–99 and noted as a possible endemic rains and is dominated by Eugenia sp. and Calophyllum subspecies (Perkin 2004). inophyllum, with Pandanus rabaiensis, Vitex doniana, The density of the human populaton of Zanzibar is and Elaeis guineensis as subdominants (Robins 1976; about 400 per km2 and as the number of people expands Beentje 1990; Burgess et al. 1992; Nahonyo et al. 2002). by about 3% per year, 1.2% of the archipelago’s forests This part of the park can be classed as coastal riverine/ is lost annually to cultvaton and wood extracton for swamp/groundwater forest in Clarke’s classifcaton frewood, charcoal producton, and building materials scheme (Clarke 2000). Contguous with the natural (Siex 2011). This lends urgency to investgatng the old-growth forest is a former Calophyllum inophyllum