FOSSA

Fossa

The fossa is a cat-like, carnivorous mammal that is endemic to Madagascar. It is a member of the Eupleridae, a family of carnivorans closely related to the mongoose family . Its classification has been controversial because its physical traits resemble those of cats, yet other traits suggest a close relationship with viverrids . Its classification, along with that of the other Malagasy carnivores, influenced hypotheses about how many times mammalian carnivores have colonized the island. With genetic studies demonstrating that the fossa and all other Malagasy carnivores are most closely related to each other, carnivorans are now thought to have colonized the island ...

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fossa

Noun

  1. A pit, groove, cavity, or depression, of greater or less depth.
  2. A long, narrow, shallow depression on the body of an extraterrestrial body, such as a planet or moon.

Noun (etymology 2)

  1. A carnivorous mammal endemic to Madagascar, .


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: fossa
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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