http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a926992911
They are similar to the mongoose, a type of viverrid, and are
considered viverrid-like..
Mustelids are derived from the canid (dog) portion of Carnivora.
Viverrids are derived from the felid (cat) portion of Carnivora (which
is why they are called feliforms). Something viverrid-like is more
likely to be a similar origin as viverrids, and in that part of the
world finding a native mustelid would be unlikely.
>Investigations into the status of a new taxon of Salanoia (Mammalia:
>Carnivora: Eupleridae) from the marshes of Lac Alaotra, Madagascar
>
>Authors: Joanna Durbina; Stephan M. Funkbc; Frank Hawkinsd; Daphne M.
>Hillse; Paulina D. Jenkinse; Clive B. Moncrieffe; Fidimalala Bruno
>Ralainasolof
>
>Abstract
>Evidence is presented from morphological observations, multivariate
>and molecular analyses on the taxonomic status of specimens of
>Salanoia newly discovered at Lac Alaotra, Madagascar, which resemble
>but are phenotypically highly divergent from the monotypic species
>S. concolor. A detailed comparative description is provided, together
>with information on the ecology of the region. Principal Component and
>Canonical Variate Analyses of craniodental morphometrics revealed high
>divergence supporting the status of a new species. Conversely, genetic
>distances from S. concolor based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b
>locus are small, not supporting new species status. A literature
>review indicates that some accepted species also exhibit low genetic
>distances at cytochrome b, which might be caused by rapid recent
>evolution, hybridization or introgression of mtDNA between lineages
>that otherwise might be genetically more distinct. Conflicting
>information from the analyses is discussed. Adaptation to highly
>divergent habitats might account for phenotypic plasticity, but the
>observed morphological difference is sufficiently great that the
>formal description as a new species is warranted. The biodiversity of
>Lac Alaotra and the importance of conservation issues are highlighted
>in relation to this discovery.
>Keywords: Carnivora; conservation; cytochrome b; euplerid; Madagascar;
>molecular analysis; morphology; multivariate analyses
and you can find more general info in resources like
http://sysbio.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/6/865.short
>Mosaics of Convergences and Noise in Morphological Phylogenies:
>What's in a Viverrid-Like Carnivoran?
> -- Philippe Gaubert (1,3,)
> -- W. Chris Wozencraft (2),
> -- Pedro Cordeiro-Estrela (1) and
> -- Geraldine Veron (1)
>
> Author Affiliations
> 1 Unite Origine, Structure et Evolution de la Biodiversite (CNRS
>UMR 5202), Departement Systematique et Evolution, Museum National
>d'Histoire Naturelle, Zoologie: Mammiferes et Oiseaux CP 51, 57 rue
>Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France
> 2 Division of Natural Sciences, Bethel College 1001 W. McKinley
>Avenue, Mishawaka, Indiana 46545, USA
> 3 Current address: Departamento de Biologia Aplicada,
>Estacion Biologica de Donana (CSIC), Avda. MarÃa Luisa
>s/n Pabellon del Peru, 41013 Sevilla, Spain;
>Received July 3, 2004.
>Revision received October 27, 2004.
>Accepted March 31, 2005.
>
>Abstract
>Adaptive convergence in morphological characters has not been
>thoroughly investigated, and the processes by which phylogenetic
>relationships may be misled by morphological convergence remains
>unclear. We undertook a case study on the morphological evolution of
>viverrid-like feliformians (Nandinia, Cryptoprocta, Fossa, Eupleres,
>Prionodon) and built the largest morphological matrix concerning the
>suborder Feliformia to date. A total of 349 characters grouped into
>four anatomical partitions were used for all species of Viverridae and
>viverrid-like taxa plus representatives of the Felidae, Hyaenidae,
>Herpestidae, and one Malagasy mongoose. Recent molecular phylogenetic
>analyses suggest that viverrid-like morphotypes appeared independently
>at least three times during feliformian evolution. We thus used a
>synthetic molecular tree to assess morphological evolutionary patterns
>characterizing the viverrid-like taxa. We examined phylogenetic
>signal, convergence and noise in morphological characters using
>(a) tree-length distribution (g1), (b) partitioned Bremer support,
(c) RI values and their distribution, (d) respective contributions
>of diagnostic synapomorphies at the nodes for each partition,
>(e) patterns of shared convergences among viverrid-like taxa and other
>feliformian lineages, (f) tree-length differences among alternative
>hypotheses, and (g) the successive removal of convergent character
>states from the original matrix. In addition, the lability of complex
>morphological structures was assessed by mapping them onto the
>synthetic molecular tree. The unconstrained morphological analysis
>yielded phylogenetic groupings that closely reflected traditional
>classification. The use of a synthetic molecular tree (constraint)
>combined with our thorough morphological investigations revealed the
>mosaics of convergences likely to have contributed to part of the
>historical uncertainty over viverrid classification. It also showed
>that complex morphological structures could be subjected to
>reversible >evolutionary trends. The morphological matrix proved
>useful in characterizing several feliformian clades with diagnostic
>synapomorphies. These results support the removal from the
>traditionally held Viverridae of several viverrid-like taxa into three
>distinct families: Nandiniidae (Nandinia), Prionodontidae (Prionodon),
>and the newly defined Eupleridae (including Cryptoprocta, Fossa,
>Eupleres plus all "mongoose-like" Malagasy taxa). No clearly
>"phylogenetically misleading" data subsets could be identified, and
>the great majority of morphological convergences appeared to be
>nonadaptive. The multiple approaches used in this study revealed that
>the most disruptive element with regards to morphological phylogenetic
>reconstruction was noise, which blured the expression of phylogenetic
>signal. This study demonstrates the crucial need to consider
>independent (molecular) phylogenies in order to produce reliable
>evolutionary hypotheses and should promote a new approach to the
>definition of morphological characters in mammals.
[Posted in FML 7004]
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