Proteles cristata (Sparrman 1783)

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Carnivora, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 1, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 532-628 : 573

Proteles cristata (Sparrman 1783)

[Viverra] cristata Sparrman 1783 , Resa Goda-Hopps-Udden., I, Vol. 1: 581.

Type Locality: English translation (Sparrman, 1786) of original locality: "Agter-Bruntjes hoogte...which takes in the upper part of Kleine Visch-rivier, and is separated from Camdebo by Bruntjes hoogtens..."; listed in G. M. Allen (1939) as "Near Little Fish River, Somerset East, Cape Colony" [ South Africa].

Vernacular Names: Aardwolf.

Synonyms: Proteles canescens Shortridge and Carter 1938 ; Proteles harrisoni Rothschild 1902 ; Proteles hyenoides (Desmarest 1821) ; Proteles lalandii I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1824 ; Proteles pallidior Cabrera 1910 ; Proteles septentrionalis Rothschild 1902 ; Proteles termes Heller 1913 ; Proteles transvaalensis Roberts 1932 ; Proteles typicus A. Smith 1834 .

Distribution: Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Conservation: CITES – Appendix III ( Botswana); IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Reviewed by Koehler and Richardson (1990) and Jenks and Werdelin (1998) who demonstrated that subspecies are not well defined and probably should not be recognized. Synonyms according to Jenks and Werdelin (1998).