Received date: 2025-07-08
Online published: 2025-10-27
Linsangs (Prionodon Horsfield, 1822) are small, arboreal feliform carnivorans that live in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia and southern China. Several lines of morphological evidence from the soft tissues, dentition, and basicranium support their placement in either Prionodontinae or Viverrinae of Viverridae. However, molecular evidence has not only excluded the linsangs from Viverridae but also established that they constitute a monogeneric family Prionodontidae sister to Felidae. For that reason, the examination of the skull osteology of linsangs and related taxa is necessary to better understand how morphological and molecular data - particularly morphology - have contributed to the reconstruction of the Feliformia phylogeny. During the summer field season in July of 2020, we stumbled across the carcass of a spotted linsang (P. pardicolor) in a karst cave on the outskirts of Chongzuo City. To contribute to the knowledge about the morphology of this enigmatic feliform carnivoran, we present a preliminary description of the exterior skull osteology of P. pardicolor. The craniodental morphology provides strong evidence for a closer phylogenetic relationship between P. pardicolor and Viverrinae. However, since both morphological and molecular approaches have inherent limitations, caution is urged when inferring feliform phylogeny based on either discipline alone.
Key words： Chongzuo; modern; Prionodontidae; Feliformia; skull; morphology; convergent evolution
WANG Yi-Duo , PAN Yue , ZHANG Ying-Qi . Preliminary exterior skull osteology of Prionodon pardicolor[J]. Vertebrata Palasiatica, 2026 , 64(1) : 74 -99 . DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.251027
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