viverridadj.n.
/vɪˈvɛrɪd/, /vʌɪˈvɛrɪd/, U.S. /vaɪˈvɛrəd/, /vəˈvɛrəd/ Zoology.
A. adj.
Belonging or pertaining to the family Viverridæ, which comprises civets, genets, and mongooses.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Carnivora > family Viverridae > [adjective]
viverrine1800
viverridous1831
viverrid1910
1910 H. F. Osborn Age of Mammals iii. 197 Still more striking is the presence [in the Oligocene] of the fierce viverrid carnivores (Amphicitis, Herpestes) of the modern civet and mongoose types.
1964 T. J. Parker & W. A. Haswell Text-bk. Zool. (ed. 7) II. 795 The aberrant Proteles, the Aard-wolf or Earth-wolf of Africa is insectivorous... Like the hyænas it is obviously a highly specialised viverrid offshoot.
B. n.
A viverrid animal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Carnivora > family Viverridae > [noun]
musk-weasel1835
viverrinec1880
viverrid1910
1910 H. F. Osborn Age of Mammals iv. 259 The mustelids were becoming more numerous..while the Asiatic civets or viverrids (Viverra) are becoming somewhat more rare [in the Miocene].
1976 Nature 5 Aug. 464/1 The carnivore fauna [of the Laetolil beds in Tanzania] is characterised by a high percentage of viverrids, constituting 32% of all the carnivore specimens.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.n.1910