Galidictis Explained
Galidictis is a genus in the subfamily Galidiinae of the family Eupleridae: a group of carnivorans that are endemic to Madagascar.
The name is from two ancient Greek words that both approximately mean ‘weasel’: galid- (see Galidia) and iktis.[1] Compare the word Galictis (grison, a closer relative of the weasel).
It contains the following two species and two subspecies:
| Image | Scientific name | Subspecies | Common name | Distribution |
|---|
| Galidictis fasciata | - Galidictis fasciata fasciata
- Galidictis fasciata striatus
| | Madagascar |
| Galidictis grandidieri | | | Madagascar |
|
Notes and References
- Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary attributes it to "NL, fr. Gk galideus young weasel + iktis yellow-breasted marten [an ambiguous common name that might be the [[European weasel|weasel]]]." However, Lewis and Short describes ictis (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἴκτις) as simply "a kind of weasel".http://archimedes.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/archim/dict/hw?lemma=ictis&step=entry&id=d003 Brill's New Pauly likewise also writes that "Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ἴκτις/ may be a weasel"http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/marten-e723190?s.num=10&s.start=20.
