Viverridae
| Viverridae Temporal range: Eocene to Recent | |
|---|---|
| Viverrids (clockwise from top left): species of Paradoxurus, Genetta, Arctictis and Paguma | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Feliformia |
| Infraorder: | Aeluroidea |
| Parvorder: | Viverroidea |
| Family: | Viverridae Gray, 1821 |
| Type genus | |
| Viverra Linnaeus, 1758 | |
| Genera | |
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| Distribution of living viverrid species | |
Viverridae is a family of small to medium-sized feliform mammals, comprising 14 genera with 33 species. This family was named and first described by John Edward Gray in 1821. Viverrids occur all over Africa, in southern Europe, South and Southeast Asia on both sides of the Wallace Line. The word viverridae comes from the Latin word viverra.
The species of the subfamily Genettinae are known as genets and oyans. The viverrids of the subfamily Viverrinae are commonly called civets; the Paradoxurinae and most Hemigalinae species are called palm civets.