The Asiatic linsangs are two species classified in the
mammalian subfamily Prionodontinae, in the family
Viverridae. There is one
Southeast Asian genus, Prionodon.Both
linsang genera (Prionodon and the African Poiana) formerly were placed in the subfamily
Viverrinae (of Viverridae), along with several other genera, but recent research suggests that their actual relationships may be somewhat different. The linsangs are remarkable for their morphological resemblance to
cats, family
Felidae, which is greater than in the other viverrids. As the relationship between linsangs and cats was thought to be rather distant (the two groups belonging to different families within the superfamily
Feliformia), this was considered an example of
convergent evolution. However, DNA analysis indicates that while the African linsangs (Poiana) are true viverrids closely related to the
genets, the Asiatic linsangs (Prionodon) are not and may instead be the closest living relatives of the
Felidae family. The similarities between Asiatic linsangs and cats are thus more likely to be due to common ancestry, while the similarities between the two genera of linsangs must be convergent.
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