Molecular systematics of the small-toothed palm civet (Arctogalidia trivirgata) reveals a strong divergence of Bornean populations

The small-toothed palm civet Arctogalidia trivirgata is a small, arboreal civet belonging to the subfamily Paradoxurinae (Viverridae) that is found in northeast India, southern China, and Southeast Asia. This is an understudied species with a debated taxonomy. Variation in coat colour and pattern has driven authors to describe numerous taxa of this civet species, but no recent taxonomic revision and no intraspecific molecular study have been conducted. We sequenced three mitochondrial and one nuclear markers in order to study the geographical genetic structure of the small-toothed palm civet and to evaluate the genetic divergence between different populations, and we examined various morphological features. Our molecular results showed that the small-toothed palm civet forms two divergent clades: Clade 1: mainland Southeast Asia, Sumatra and nearby small islands, and Java; and Clade 2: Borneo. Further investigations are needed to verify the possible specific status of these two clades. The populations north of the Isthmus of Kra are characterized by a white ear tip and form a separate clade from the populations south of the Isthmus of Kra, but their genetic divergence does not warrant a specific status. The Javan small-toothed palm civet was found to have a low genetic divergence to the nearby populations within Clade 1. Further studies are needed in order to confirm these results and to revise the taxonomy of the small-toothed palm civet.