A historical specimen of the Fishing Cat, Prionailurus viverrinus (Bennett, 1833) (Carnivora, Felidae) from Singapore in the zoological collection of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden

By

Jusoh, Wan F. A.
Chua, Marcus A. H.
Bakker, Piet A.J.
Kamminga, Pepijn
Weiler, Danièle
Rookmaaker, Leendert Cornelis, 1953-
Low, Martyn E. Y.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022

Original Publication

Zoosystematics and evolution

Volume

98

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

43--53

Subjects

digital repatriation , Felis leucojalamus , first Singapore expedition , history of mammalogy , Pierre-Médard Diard , Stamford Raffles , Zoological collection

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia Pensoft

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.98.76940

 

Abstract

The Fishing Cat is not a species known to inhabit Singapore. However, a historical specimen stated to have come from Singapore in 1819 and attributed to Pierre-Médard Diard (RMNH.MAM.59688) is now housed at Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. Two hundred years after it was obtained, the mounted skin and skull of this specimen, including specimen labels, were photographed and digitally catalogued. Four sets of annotations from labels and a document detailing records and a receipt of specimens sent by Diard to Leiden are presented to ascertain the specimen’s identity, followed by a historical account of Diard based on a reconstruction of the timeline of key events of Singapore’s natural history. Subsequently, the specimen is examined to confirm its taxonomic identity using comparative morphometrics with other museum specimens, and data associated with the specimen are analysed to determine the origins of this specimen. We conclude that the current evidence does not allow confirmation of the specimen’s status as having been collected in Singapore or being obtained from the pet trade. If the specimen was an imported specimen, it would point towards a trade in rare and large animals in Singapore and the region from as early as 1819. Presently, the specimen remains one of the few extant zoological specimens obtained in Singapore in 1819 and the only one currently known outside of England.